Blackwell Reference Online

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At present, there are over 50,000 international organizations with a total budget easily over US$250 billion devoted to improving social, economic, political, and health conditions around the world, specifically in less developed countries ( Directory of Development Organizations 2007 ; →  International Communication Agencies ). The current status of modern international development organizations can be traced back to the end of World War II and the official launch of the United Nations. Indeed, while other organizations pre-date the UN, including religious and political bodies, it was the formation of the UN and its many subsidiary programs and funds that helped catalyze international →  modernization efforts. This launch also coincided with the establishment of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and the Bretton Woods System in 1944. While the Marshall Plan for post-World War II recovery focused on bilateral agreements made with individual European countries, Bretton Woods created a multilateral system that provided economic aid to developing countries through loans that were tied to changes in economic policies in the recipient countries ( Spero & Hart 2003 ). In the United States the first bilateral assistance to developing countries began with the Truman Point Four program (a Marshall Plan for the third world), which provided skills, information, and equipment ... log in or subscribe to read full text