How do the RDBs make policy decisions? With hegemon(s), states, boards, managers, and staff all involved in the governance and activities of the RDBs, how is their influence integrated into the policy output of each bank, and does the balance of power in the governance structure change over time and/or under diverse circumstances? This chapter enriches the findings in the Chapters 4 and 5 by adding a central dimension to the results of the quantitative analysis: it describes the context in which the policy outputs are undertaken by unpacking the governance structure of the RDBs and taking a closer look at the decision making processes that influences outcomes.

By examining the loans RDBs disburse in the context of borrowing countries’ economic, social, and political indicators, the quantitative analysis in the last two chapters demonstrated the differences (and similarities) between the development banks. In addition to “big picture” assessments – which “types” of countries get more loans from the RDBs, whether the Cold War marked a turning point in lending policy, and the extent to which hegemons reward allies – Chapter 4 examined a sample of borrowing countries to provide further tangible evidence and context for Chapter 5's statistical analysis.

These findings, however, do not complete the picture of the decision-making processes and political strategies utilized by the RDBs and their member countries. Through an analysis of the typology of RDBs’ governance structures, this chapter complements the quantitative analysis through a more nuanced consideration of the way RDBs develop lending policies. An examination of the culture and institutional mechanisms of the development banks reveals their unique attributes as well as their similar features.