Summary: The United States contributes to the success of the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the International Monetary Fund by providing professional staffs and financial support. It is considering joining the African Development Bank and, thus, may have similar commitments to that institution. The Department of the Treasury, in consultation with the International Development Cooperation Agency and the National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies, is the primary agency responsible for U.S. participation in these international financial institutions.
Although the contribution of financial resources is controlled and scrutinized by the United States, human resources support receives relatively little attention. In the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, Americans work throughout the institutions with relatively high representation at management levels and represent the largest nationality in each institution. American employment at the Asian Development Bank is relatively low by comparison, and Americans are not spread throughout the bank. This situation is expected to worsen unless the United States takes ameliorating actions. The major impediment to hiring and retaining Americans at the institution is that the salaries of Americans after taxes is too low. Americans realize effective salaries several thousand dollars less than their counterparts. Equalizing U.S. employee incomes with those of their non-American counterparts appears to be the least costly and yet most effective option available. The long-term solution to this problem should consider American employment at all international organizations. Development plans for salary equalization might also be useful in the event the United States joins the African Development Bank.
