Bryan T. Johnson

In the following viewpoint, Bryan T. Johnson argues that the World Bank has not improved living standards in less developed countries. He asserts that the majority of nations that have received World Bank loans have either failed to improve their economic prospects or are now worse off than they were prior to the loans. According to Johnson, these countries fail to develop because they lack economic freedom. Johnson is a policy analyst for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative public policy research organization, and the coauthor of the Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal Index of Economic Freedom.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What was the World Bank’s primary mission when it was founded, according to the author?
2. According to statistics cited by Johnson, how many of the...