The protesters were a mixed group

But they did succeed in drawing the attention of the world's media to a series of meetings that, a year ago, would never have figured on the front pages or main television news.

Compared to the demonstrations in the United States, they were more red and less green, with a variety of small left-wing political parties from Germany, Italy, France and Britain taking part.

And the small minority who were bent on confrontation with the police, possibly led by the Italian anarchist group Ya Basta!, showed that it was all too easy to turn the mood from a festive atmosphere into violence.

Deep-seated fears

But nevertheless behind the violent protests, and the more targeted debt campaign protests, were some deep-seated worries about the direction of the world economy - worries which were articulated most clearly by the heads of the IMF and World Bank themselves.

Concerns

Dramatic increase in inequality between rich and poor nations Global financial markets can now destabilise the world's biggest economies Fears in industrialised countries of job losses and poor environment

First of all, inequality between rich and poor countries has increased dramatically in the last two decades, with (as James Wolfensohn of the World Bank said) 20% of the world's population controlling 80% of the world's wealth.

And, as the World Bank itself acknowledged in its report on the quality of growth, poor people in developing countries need more than just money - to benefit from any growth that occurs, they need more access to jobs and education, and less discrimination and corruption.

Secondly, there are genuine fears that the rapid development of world financial markets, which have become truly global rather than national in the last decade, have the potential to destabilise not just the East Asian economies, as they did in the l997-98 financial crisis, but also the world's biggest economies as well.

The disquiet that was expressed by IMF Managing Director Horst Kohler about the euro, followed later in the week by co-ordinated action to prop up the currency, was a sign of the worries shared now by all countries - about the possible consequences of sharp changes in exchange rates for world growth.

The heads of the IMF and World Bank are worried

Even the private banking sector is worried that eventually it could be the dollar rather than the euro that could come under pressure.

Thirdly, there are real fears in industrialised countries about the effects of globalisation. These were acknowledged by Mr Wolfensohn, who said that people were worried about losing their jobs and lowering of environmental standards because of free trade.

Impact of protests

And the protests have had the biggest impact so far on trade talks, with the prospects for any further extension of free trade now firmly off the agenda after the collapse of attempts to launch a new round in Seattle.

Ironically, though, many developing countries see this as the biggest obstacle to their development.

Concern over growing poverty

Trevor Manuel, South Africa's Finance Minister who was chairing the IMF/World Bank annual meeting, told delegates that the West was guilty of hypocrisy by not opening its markets to agricultural and industrial products from the Third World.

In some ways, however, the World Bank may ultimately benefit from the growing concern about world poverty.

It has been making strenuous efforts to co-opt the non-governmental organisations who are lobbying on debt and environmental issues, offering them unprecedented access to the event and meeting them on a regular basis.

And it has certainly changed its rhetoric, if not the reality of its programmes, to talk about empowering the poor rather than building power plants.

Fears of job losses in the West

The change in emphasis will also help to counter criticisms from the right, especially in the United States, that the World Bank lends to the wrong people (corrupt, middle income governments) and has the wrong policies.

Curiously, it is the far left - the violent protesters- and right-wing critics in the US - who are united in the objective of closing down the international institutions.

For others, like the UK's Chancellor, Gordon Brown, who chaired the IMF's main policy making body, globalisation requires co-operation, and the international institutions are even more necessary than before.

Whether that co-operation will be extended to Opec lowering its oil prices, as Mr Brown hopes, is another matter.

But there is little doubt that further calls for reform of the institutions, and more worries about globalisation, will continue.