In its most recent report on world development, the Bank called for "empowerment of the poor" and not just macroeconomic growth as a means of lifting the more destitute out of poverty.

But despite all the efforts of the Bank and other aid agencies, world inequality has increased sharply in the last decade.

So is this new approach from the World Bank anything other than rhetoric? Does it have a role to play in an increasingly globalised world where the flows of private capital are more important than the flow of foreign aid?

Nick Stern, the World Bank Chief economist, answered your questions in a live forum from Prague, the venue for the annual meeting of the World Bank and the IMF.

To listen to coverage of the forum, select the link below:

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