Policy Coherence or Conformance? The New World Bank—International Monetary Fund—World Trade Organization Rhetoric on Trade and Investment in Developing Countries

Abstract

This article traces the concept of “policy coherence” in new debates over development policy space, explores the codification of coherence through International Monetary Fund World Bank World Trade Organization cooperation and recent bi- and multilateral trade agreements, and critiques the abuse of this concept. Today, coherence is code for “policy conformance.” The task is not to remove coherence from the lexicon of development policy but instead to rescue it in pursuit of expanded space for heterogeneous, autonomous paths to development.