Analysis: World Bank, IMF Face Long-Term Damage After Data Rigging Scandal

Read MoreWASHINGTON–Regardless of whether International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva was to blame for changes to World Bank data in 2017 that benefited China, the scandal has dented the research reputations of both institutions, former staff, government officials and outside experts say. The damage from the data-rigging scandal that forced the World Bank to discontinue its “Doing Business” investment climate rankings may be difficult to repair and has raised questions over whether the institutions’ influential research is subject to shareholder influence. Georgieva has strongly denied accusations in a World Bank external investigation report that she applied “undue pressure” on staff for changes that boosted China’s business climate ranking to 78th from 85th in the 2018 report on business climate rankings at a time when the bank was seeking Beijing’s support for a major capital increase. A higher ranking in the influential World Bank publication can mean increased inflows of foreign …