International Monetary Fund

The sixteenth annual report of the Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund for the fiscal year ending April 30, 1961, was transmitted to the Chairman of the Board of Governors on June 23, 1961, by Mr. Per Jacobsson, Chairman of the Executive Board. The report stated that in contrast to the year 1959, when virtually all countries had participated in world-wide expansion, the year 1960 and early part of 1961 had presented a less unified picture. For the world as a whole, the expansionary elements had considerably outweighed the contractionary elements. World industrial production, excluding the countries of the Soviet area, had been almost 6 percent greater in 1960 than in 1959, having grown by 10 percent; and the value of world trade had increased by 12 percent, compared with 6 percent in 1959. The stimulus for the rise in world trade had come predominantly from the booming European industrial countries and from Japan, which had increased their imports by nearly 20 percent; there had been a slight decline in imports from the United States and Canada. The imports of the less-industrialized countries had also increased considerably, by some 10 percent. Trade developments during 1960 had improved the basic international payments situation in some respects. Rising exports and slightly declining imports caused an increase in the surplus of private goods and services account in the United States. West Germany's surplus also increased, while France's remained stationary; decreases had been noted in several other industrial countries, in particular Japan and Italy, where the rate of economic expansion had been exceptionally high, and in the United Kingdom, mainly due to the sharp growth of imports associated with their high level of economic activity.

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International Monetary Fund

International Organization ◽

10.1017/s0020818300007359 ◽

1953 ◽

Vol 7 (4) ◽

pp. 576-583

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

International Monetary Fund ◽

World Trade ◽

Korean War ◽

Raw Materials ◽

The United States ◽

Fiscal Year ◽

Executive Directors ◽

Board Of Governors ◽

The Korean War

The annual report of the Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund for the fiscal year ending April 30, 1953, was transmitted to the Chairman of the Board of Governors on July 1, 1953. By the beginning of 1953, the report noted, the foreign exchange imbalance and the internal inflationary pressures, which had been engendered by the outbreak of the Korean war and the subsequent speculative inflationary boom, were being successfully combatted in most countries. The widespread payments crisis of early 1952 had affected the raw materials producing countries most severely; falling raw materials prices, resulting in reduced income, had been coupled with increased demands for imports, resulting from higher domestic incomes and the requirements of development projects. Export countries, especially those which relied on raw materials producers for dollar earnings, were also affected by the price fluctuations. Measures adopted in the various affected countries to combat the payments imbalances and the reduction of excessive inventories led to a sharp contraction in the volume of world trade in 1952; by the third quarter, the value of world imports was 10 percent less than the previous year. The United States did not contribute markedly to this decline; in fact, for the year as a whole the volume of United States imports was 5 percent greater than in 1951, although this was primarily due to a great increase in the last quarter of the year. Declines in the volume and value of world trade, it was feared, might lead to further progressive deterioration; however, by the beginning of 1953, the greater part of the distortions initiated by the outbreak of Korean hostilities had been eliminated.

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International Monetary Fund

International Organization ◽

10.1017/s0020818300007608 ◽

1954 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 577-582

Keyword(s):

International Monetary Fund ◽

Western Europe ◽

The United States ◽

Balance Of Payments ◽

Fiscal Year ◽

Monetary Policies ◽

Board Of Governors ◽

Domestic Capital ◽

General Improvement ◽

High Level

The Annual Report of the Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund for the fiscal year ended April 30, 1954, was transmitted to the Chairman of the Board of Governors on July 1, 1954. During the period under review, the report noted, important steps toward currency convertibility had been taken in several countries, notably Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, the Netherlands, and United Kingdom; restrictions on dollar imports had been lightened, exports of domestic capital had been freer, and more reliance had been placed on the regulative powers of the price mechanism. The easing of restrictions had gone hand in hand with an improvement in the world balance of payments equilibrium, and a reversal, during 1953, of the downward trend in the volume of world trade which had appeared early in 1952. Sound fiscal and monetary policies had improved the competitive position of Europe which had experienced more stable prices and less inflationary pressure; the report cautioned that the coincidence, up to mid-1953, of a high level of business activity in the United States with slack demand conditions in western Europe had been a purely fortuitous aid in improving the latter's balance of payments position. Progress toward convertibility had been made possible by a general improvement in economic conditions; however, problems would be involved in taking further steps toward convertibility. Among these were: 1) the problem of controlling international movements of capital, and 2) the importance of having countries whose balance of payments position was weak, as well as those with a stronger position, move concurrently towards convertibility.

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World Trade in Manufactures

National Institute Economic Review ◽

10.1177/002795016001000103 ◽

1960 ◽

Vol 10 ◽

pp. 18-27 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

R. L. Major

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Latin America ◽

World Trade ◽

Average Rate ◽

The United States ◽

Industrial Countries ◽

The World ◽

Yearly Rate

World exports of manufactures have risen rapidly in the last decade—indeed faster than world manufacturing production (chart 1). There were checks in 1951–53 and in 1958; even so the yearly rate of rise since 1950 has been 9 per cent in value, 7 1/2 per cent in volume. The pattern of this trade has been changing, particularly in the last five years: markets have grown faster in the industrial countries than in the less developed parts of the world (chart 2). Since 1954, in value terms, the exports of manufactures to the United States and to OEEC countries have been rising at an average rate of 17 per cent and 10 per cent a year respectively; to Latin America and the sterling area, only 3 1/2 per cent and 4 1/2 per cent.

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International Monetary Fund

International Organization ◽

10.1017/s0020818300025418 ◽

1964 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 872-873

Keyword(s):

International Monetary Fund ◽

Western Europe ◽

The United States ◽

Balance Of Payments ◽

Fiscal Year ◽

Monetary Policies ◽

Board Of Governors ◽

Domestic Capital ◽

General Improvement ◽

High Level

The Annual Report of the Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund for the fiscal year ended April 30, 1954, was transmitted to the Chairman of the Board of Governors on July 1, 1954. During the period under review, the report noted, important steps toward currency convertibility had been taken in several countries, notably Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, the Netherlands, and United Kingdom; restrictions on dollar imports had been lightened, exports of domestic capital had been freer, and more reliance had been placed on the regulative powers of the price mechanism. The easing of restrictions had gone hand in hand with an improvement in the world balance of payments equilibrium, and a reversal, during 1953, of the downward trend in the volume of world trade which had appeared early in 1952. Sound fiscal and monetary policies had improved the competitive position of Europe which had experienced smore stable prices and less inflationary pressure; the report cautioned that the coincidence, up to mid-1953, of a high level of business activity in the United States with slack demand conditions in western Europe had been a purely fortuitous aid in improving the latter's balance of payments position. Progress toward convertibility had been made possible by a general improvement in economic conditions; however, problems would be involved in taking further steps toward convertibility. Among these were: (1) the problem of controlling international movements of capital, and (2) the importance of having countries whose balance of payments position was weak, as well as those with a stronger position, move concurrently towards convertibility.

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International Monetary Fund

International Organization ◽

10.1017/s002081830000998x ◽

1960 ◽

Vol 14 (3) ◽

pp. 468-472 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Keyword(s):

International Monetary Fund ◽

World Economy ◽

The United States ◽

European Countries ◽

Fiscal Year ◽

Industrial Countries ◽

Flow Of Funds ◽

Board Of Governors ◽

The World ◽

General Business

The annual report of the Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund for the fiscal year ended April 30, 1959, was transmitted to the Chairman of the Board of Governors on July 9, 1959. In its discussion of the world economy in 1958–1959 the report noted that the year which ended on April 30 had stood out not only because of the marked changes which had occurred in general business activity and in the international flow of funds, but also because important steps had been taken to consolidate the monetary improvements achieved since the war and to strengthen the financial structure of the world economy. Outstanding events had been the following: a sharp upswing of industrial production in the United States, together with indications of renewed expansion in other industrial countries; the increase of more than $3.5 billion in the gold and foreign exchange reserves of western European countries; the adoption in December 1958 of external convertibility by fourteen European countries and the complementary steps taken by fifteen other countries to adjust their exchange controls to the new conditions thus established; and the agreements reached to expand the financial resources of the Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development. On the other hand, the experience of many of the primary producing countries had been much less satisfactory, inasmuch as the decline in the prices of many primary products which had begun in 1956 had continued into 1958, and there had been a reduction in the earning capacity of most of these countries, which had created further difficulties in their payments positions and acted as a brake upon their economic development

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Chapter II. The World Overseas

National Institute Economic Review ◽

10.1177/002795016402800103 ◽

1964 ◽

Vol 28 ◽

pp. 16-23

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

World Trade ◽

The United States ◽

World Production ◽

Primary Producers ◽

Industrial Countries ◽

The World ◽

Gains And Losses ◽

Strong Expansion ◽

Tax Cuts

The outlook for world production and trade in 1964 and early 1965 has not changed much since February. Continued strong expansion in the United States seems certain now that the tax cuts have been enacted; and there is rather more evidence of a slackening in the pace of growth in France and Italy. World trade should again rise rapidly, though the reserve position of some primary producers is rather weak and they may not be able to increase their imports a great deal further in 1964. Quite large gains and losses of reserves are to be expected among industrial countries, particularly in Europe.

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International Monetary Fund

International Organization ◽

10.1017/s002081830002484x ◽

1961 ◽

Vol 15 (2) ◽

pp. 299-305 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Keyword(s):

International Monetary Fund ◽

World Trade ◽

Real Income ◽

Fiscal Year ◽

Industrial Countries ◽

Board Of Governors ◽

Long Run ◽

The World ◽

Short Run ◽

High Degree

The annual report of the Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund for the fiscal year ended April 30, 1960, was transmitted to the Chairman of the Board of Governors on July 8, 1960. In its discussion of the world economy in 1959–1960 the report noted that the year which ended April 30 had been marked by a continual upswing in world industrial activity and an increase in world trade, with industrial production up 10 percent over the recession year of 1958 and the value of world trade increased by 6 percent. During this period of business expansion the leading industrial countries had achieved remarkable success in the delicate task of maintaining a high degree of economic stability, without having to place severe restraint on the forces which helped to sustain the expansion of output and real income. The prices of many industrial materials, especially metals, recovered, but the market for primary products remained weak, and the prices of foodstuffs declined. It became evident that, given the mildness of the postwar recessions, the most pressing problem for primary producing countries was not that of finding compensatory finance in connection with short-run fluctuations in export proceeds, but rather that of establishing a satisfactory long-run trend in the volume and prices of exports and of preventing inflationary pressures from causing imports to expand beyond the available resources of foreign exchange. During the year under consideration the lessening of inflationary pressures and the marked strengthening of the payments structure of the world, along with the increasing supplies of both primary and manufactured products, created a situation in which international competition made itself felt more and more strongly.

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