James Wolfensohn

“It's probably conventional wisdom now that you bring openness of markets only after the market has developed to a certain level.”

“I think that so-called capitalism and trade is a very important element in giving people opportunity.”

“The only way really to influence countries, in terms of poverty, is to get them to change their policies and get them to understand what the issues are.”

“I have travelled in the country enough to know that the concerns of villages in Rajasthan will be very different from the issues in the villages of Tamil Nadu. Anybody who makes a general remark about India probably doesn't know India.”

“The interesting thing about debt in most cases is that you have to pay it back. So if you build an overhang of debt, it becomes more and more limiting in terms of the prospect that you have.”

“I saw it with my own eyes: Israelis and Palestinians, arm in arm, walking off together and clearly pricing how you could get your truck to the top of the line or get it through at all. It was an absolutely transparently corrupt system at the border - you had to buy your truck's way across. I thought it was a disgrace.”

“I was deeply concerned then, and have become more concerned since, that unless we can deal with the questions of development and the questions of poverty, there's no way that we're going to have a peaceful world for our children.”

“The notion of the world as a village is becoming a reality.”

“We have three billion people, half the world's population today, living on less than two dollars a day.”

“We have made a full frontal attack on corruption. The question is whether we can address the question of governance in developing countries and, particularly, corruption.”

“It is possible to have a public education system that works.”

“If you enter the World Bank office in Washington, D.C., you will see written on the left wall, 'The purpose of the World Bank is to fight poverty with passion.' I had it put up there because I wanted something that unites us as an institution.”

“Most people recognize that to create jobs is really the essential element in their drive against poverty.”

“The poor people of the world tend to be the places that al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups can recruit.”

“You can't compete globally unless you have appropriate communication skills.”

“You don't succeed on corruption in five minutes. I wish one could.”

“Well the specific role of the World Bank is to be ready with financial assistance immediately after this emergency takes place because you need to reconnect water, you need to reconnect power, you need roads, you need bridges, and that has to be done urgently.”

“My view is to try and not demonize the Palestinians. I'm not denying that there are Palestinians who fire rockets and do terrible things; I know that that happens. But to get a fundamental solution, you have to have hope on both sides.”

“China never borrowed less than $3 billion a year during my tenure. They were the most significant client. They used the Bank not just for money but for the know-how.”

“I believe and still believe that the Chinese government puts great weight on the experience of the Bank in terms of development.”