How should the international monetary fund function in the modern world?

2000 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mária Havrilová
Keyword(s):  
International Monetary Fund ◽  
World Economy ◽  
Asian Financial Crisis ◽  
Balance Of Payments ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Lender Of Last Resort ◽  
Financial Flows ◽  
Imf Programs ◽  
The International Monetary Fund ◽  
The Imf

The International Monetary Fund is a remarkable survivor. It was created to carry out specific functions in a world that has since vanished. Its role in the world economy still remains central. But in recent times, it has faced considerable criticism, both in terms of its role and its performance. We examine why IMF programs are often ineffective in achieving their goals, and whether there are any prospects for strengthening the IMF's role to become a genuine global monitor of financial flows and monetary issues. Then we examine the Fund's major role as lender of last resort to members who experience balance of payments problems. In particular, it will argue that the IMF's reliance on "conditionality" as a means of affecting change in the domestic policy of some of its members is misguided. Finally, a few suggestions on how the IMF could improve its procedures and brief evaluation of the IMF´s intervention in the Asian financial crisis.

Poverty, Inequality, and the International Monetary Fund: How Austerity Hurts the Poor and Widens Inequality

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Stubbs ◽  
Alexander Kentikelenis ◽  
Rebecca Ray ◽  
Kevin P. Gallagher
Keyword(s):  
International Monetary Fund ◽  
Developing World ◽  
International Level ◽  
Policy Reforms ◽  
The Poor ◽  
Original Dataset ◽  
Socio Economic Development ◽  
Imf Programs ◽  
The International Monetary Fund ◽  
The Imf

Abstract Among the drivers of socio-economic development, this article focuses on an important yet insufficiently understood international-level determinant: the spread of austerity policies to the developing world by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In offering loans to developing countries in exchange for policy reforms, the IMF typically sets the fiscal parameters within which development occurs. Using an original dataset of IMF-mandated austerity targets, we examine how policy reforms prescribed in IMF programs affect inequality and poverty. Our empirical analyses span a panel of up to 79 countries for the period 2002–2018. Using instrumentation techniques, we control for the possibility that these relationships are driven by the IMF imposing harsher austerity measures precisely in countries with more problematic economies. Our findings show that stricter austerity is associated with greater income inequality for up to two years, and that this effect is driven by concentrating income to the top 10% of earners while all other deciles lose out. We also find that stricter austerity is associated with higher poverty headcounts and poverty gaps. Taken together, our findings suggest that the IMF neglects the multiple ways its own policy advice contributed to social inequity in the developing world.

The international monetary fund in eastern europe: seven years of experience

1997 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiří Jonáš
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Trade ◽  
Eastern Europe ◽  
International Monetary Fund ◽  
Financial Support ◽  
Recipient Country ◽  
Balance Of Payments ◽  
Financial Assistance ◽  
The International Monetary Fund ◽  
Term Objective ◽  
The Imf

Almost seven years ago, in January 1990, the IMF approved for Poland its first stabilisation program in Eastern Europe. The Fund's role was to provide financial support to macroeconomic stabilisation in the wake of rapid liberalisation of prices, opening of foreign trade and devaluation of currency. In 1991, as reforms in Eastern Europe unfolded, stabilisation programs for other countries followed. During the nearly seven years since, the IMF has provided billions of USD to countries in the region, and all of the former centrally planned economies except Slovenia have received financial support from the IMF. The Fund's financial assistance never comes with no strings attached. Such assistance must serve not only the immediate purpose of balance of payments support but also the longer-term objective of eliminating the problems causing the recipient country to seek the Fund's assistance.

The Politics of Financial Reform in Indonesia

Asian Survey ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 987-1008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sawa Omori
Keyword(s):  
International Monetary Fund ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
Financial Reform ◽  
Veto Players ◽  
Financial Reforms ◽  
Imf Programs ◽  
The International Monetary Fund ◽  
The Imf

This research explains the politics of financial reforms in Indonesia by applying the theory of veto players. By comparing the periods during and after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) programs, I analyze temporal variations in the effects of the IMF and the number of veto players on financial reforms in Indonesia.

International Monetary Fund

1958 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-224 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
International Monetary Fund ◽  
World Economy ◽  
Balance Of Payments ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Underdeveloped Countries ◽  
International Bank ◽  
Board Of Governors ◽  
The World ◽  
General Aspects ◽  
The International Monetary Fund

The twelfth annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund was held jointly with the Board of Governors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Washington D.C., September 23–26, 1957, under the chairmanship of Miguel Cuaderno, Sr. Per Jacobsson, Managing Director, reviewed the activities of the Fund during the previous year. Emphasizing that the Fund's assistance was of a short-term nature and designed to enable countries to adopt and carry out, within a limited period of time, programs to restore stability to their economies, Mr. Jacobsson stated that the Fund was being used to help countries meet emergency needs, ease strain in the balance of payments, meet temporary exchange difficulties, and fulfill stabilization programs. Mr. Jacobsson went on to discuss various problems encountered in connection with the Fund's activities and cited, inter alia, multiple currency practices, Fund liquidity, and, in connection with general aspects of the world economy, inflation, relative values of currencies, and financing for underdeveloped countries.

scholarly journals International Monetary Fund Annual Report 2020

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
International Monetary Fund ◽  
World Economy ◽  
Annual Report ◽  
The World ◽  
The International Monetary Fund ◽  
The Imf

This year, as the world faced a crisis like no other, the International Monetary Fund and its member countries swung into action to save lives and put a floor under the world economy. But the outlook remains uncertain. Countries now face a “long ascent” that will be difficult, uneven, uncertain, and prone to setbacks. The IMF is working to help countries focus on "policies for people" to generate a transformational recovery through job-rich growth that benefits all.

scholarly journals EXPERIENCE AND STRATEGIC DIRECTIONS OF UKRAINE'S CO-OPERATION WITH THE INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE FUND

2017 ◽  
pp. 36-49
Author(s):  
Vitaliy Rudan
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
International Monetary Fund ◽  
National Economy ◽  
Systematic Approach ◽  
International Exchange ◽  
Domestic Economy ◽  
Internal Resources ◽  
Imf Programs ◽  
The International Monetary Fund ◽  
The Imf

Introduction. The article deals with theoretical and practical views on the peculiarities of the activities of the International Monetary Fund, in particular the provision of loans to developing countries. The domestic experience of cooperation with the IMF is analyzed. The main problems and threats for the national economy are outlined. Purpose. The aim of the article is to study international and domestic experience of cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, as well as to develop proposals for the formulation of strategic guidelines for the development of Ukraine in the context of studying expediency of interaction with the Fund. Method (methodology). Methods of empirical and retrospective analysis of the activities of the International Monetary Fund in lending to developing countries and Ukraine; methods of analogy and comparison when studying the problem aspects of cooperation between Ukraine and the IMF; statistical methods for analyzing the dynamics of indices of the domestic currency market; a systematic approach to substantiating strategic guidelines for the development of the domestic economy without the support of the IMF have been used in this research. Results. The main ambiguous actions of the International Monetary Fund concerning the developing countries have been analyzed. The main aspects of cooperation between the IMF and Ukraine have been studied. On their basis the threatening requirements of the IMF programs for the national economy have been singled out. The proposals on the expediency of restricting cooperation have been substantiated. We have worked out the recommendations as for the formation of strategic guidelines for the development of the domestic economy at the expense of internal resources and opportunities without the support of the IMF.

scholarly journals Has the IMF Outlived Its Usefulness or Gone Past Its ‘Use-by’ Date?

2018 ◽  
Vol 04 (S1) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Imad A. Moosa ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Financial Crisis ◽  
International Monetary Fund ◽  
Asian Financial Crisis ◽  
The International Monetary Fund ◽  
The Imf

Since the advent of the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s, a debate has ensued on whether the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should be reformed, abolished, or left as is because it is performing a good and useful job. In this paper, it is argued that the IMF should be abolished because its work, particularly in developing countries, has been useless at best and harmful at worst. Several reasons, as well as examples of how IMF operations have been detrimental to the welfare of people living in countries that the IMF is supposed to help, are presented to support this proposition.

scholarly journals Historical and economic analysis of cooperation between the International Monetary Fund and Ukraine in the context of modern challenges

2020 ◽  
pp. 165-171
Author(s):  
Volodymyr Studinski ◽  
Karina Roshkar
Keyword(s):  
International Monetary Fund ◽  
Structural Adjustment ◽  
Foreign Currency ◽  
Balance Of Payments ◽  
Main Task ◽  
Lender Of Last Resort ◽  
Military Conflict ◽  
The Status ◽  
Major Donor ◽  
The International Monetary Fund

The article an attempt was made to trace the historical path of cooperation between Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund from the early 1990s, when Ukraine gained independence, to the present. The purpose of the International Monetary Fund's activity has been defined in Article I of the Fund's Statute and is to promote: international monetary cooperation; expansion and balanced growth of international trade;exchange rate stability, maintenance of proper exchange between participants; the creation of a multilateral system of payments for current transactions between members and the elimination of currency restrictions that impede the growth of world trade; reduction of terms and degree of imbalance of participants' balance of payments. The main task of Ukraine's cooperation with the International Monetary Fund is financial support and development of the economy as a whole, as well as its restructuring from a planned administrative type to a market one. In addition, Ukraine has been experiencing a difficult period since 2014 in the context of military conflict with the Russian Federation, as well as the loss of part of its territories that played an appropriate economic role in the country's life. The International Monetary Fund has become a major donor in such a difficult environment.The International Monetary Fund is a unique organization in the world in the number and diversity of member countries, while maintaining the status of a lender of last resort in the event of financial crises.The International Monetary Fund provides foreign currency loans to Member States for two purposes: to cover the balance of payments deficit (actually to replenish official foreign exchange reserves) and to support macroeconomic stabilization and structural adjustment of the economy (lending to government budget expenditures). As a result of the study, the authors concluded that Ukraine's cooperation with the IMF had several historical stages, characterized by its specificity and peculiarities. Also, cooperation between Ukraine and the International Monetary Fund has both positive and negative points. At the same time, without such cooperation, it is difficult, and often impossible, for Ukraine to maintain its balance of payments, forcing the country to continue working together with this reputable world institution.

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