Paul Wolfowitz assumes the presidency of the World Bank on June 1 amid great speculation about his vision for the institution and considerable public debate about its broader purpose and future.

What priorities should Wolfowitz set during his tenure at the World Bank, and what lessons can he draw from the successes and failures of previous World Bank presidents? Will he champion the fundamental restructuring of the World Bank or pursue a more cautious approach toward its reform? What new policies and practices might the World Bank adopt under Wolfowitz to better address the challenge of global poverty?

These and other questions will be the subject of an AEI panel discussion. Participants include Nancy Birdsall, president of the Center for Global Development; David de Ferranti, who recently joined the Brookings Institution after having served as regional vice president of the World Bank for Latin America and the Caribbean since 1999; and Allan H. Meltzer, AEI visiting scholar, professor at Carnegie Mellon University, and former chairman of the International Financial Institution Advisory Commission. Desmond Lachman, resident scholar at AEI, will moderate.