11. EXCHANGE RATES AND THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND

1989 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 503-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jürgen Wulf

When Zambia introduced weekly foreign-exchange auctions in October 1985 in order to determine the value of the kwacha vis-à-vis the dollar, together with other measures aiming at liberalising external and internal trade and at restructuring the pattern of production, they were widely acclaimed as a model for reforms elsewhere in the continent. The Economist praised Zambia for ‘taking one of the bravest economic gambles that any African country has taken’,1 implying that even in the view of liberal commentators the Government ran a considerable risk in trying to implement this reform programme. The new measures enabled Zambia to reach a fresh stand-by agreement with the International Monetary Fund in early 1986, the previous one having broken down in 1985 because the authorities failed to meet the I.M.F.'s economic targets.


1952 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 644-646

The Annual Report of the Executive Directors of the International Monetary Fund for the fiscal year ended April 30, 1952 was presented to the Board of Governors by its chairman (Rooth) on June 24, 1952. The report indicated that, despite a remarkable growth in production and one widespread adjustment of exchange rates over the previous seven years, international payments were still far from having attained a state of balance and exchange difficulties and restrictions existed again over large parts of the world, for countries constituting a large part of the world had followed policies aimed at achieving higher levels of consumption and investment than could be covered out of real resources available. This had resulted in a situation of inflationary pressures that in certain countries had been aggravated by rearmament programs, pressures which created excessive demands for imports and reduced the quantities of goods available for export. In this situation the use of exchange restrictions and quantitative import controls, frequently of a discriminatory nature, seemed inevitable to many countries; and during the past year there had been a tendency to extend and intensify these restrictions and controls.


1993 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 301-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil B. Ridler

The implementation of economic reforms in Africa under the aegis of the International Monetary Fund (I.M.F.) has undoubtedly produced the kind of social dislocation so well described by Barry Riddell in a recent article in this Journal. The structural adjustment programmes (S.A.P.s) have also in some cases generated growth, as noted by Michel Camdessus, director-general of the I.M.F. in 1991: ‘Soon more than 30 African countries will apply these growth strategies. Where the programmes have been applied rigorously, results have been impressive. ’


1971 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Gold

In these days when the exchange rate provisions of the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund are being scrutinized, although in a spirit of continued approbation of the basic principles of what is called the par-value system or the Bretton Woods system, it may be useful to examine one of the most remarkable features of the agreement which was reached in July, 1944. The reference is to Article IV, Section 6, of the Articles of Agreement, which deals with what are called, in the title of the provision, "unauthorized changes" of par values. The provision is interesting not only because it establishes an important principle of the par-value system but also because it does this by means of a novel and ingenious legal technique.


1992 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. D. Crockett

WHEN ITS ARTICLES OF AGREEMENT WERE DRAWN UP IN 1944, the International Monetary Fund was seen as having two main functions: to oversee the operation of a system of fixed, but adjustable, exchange rates; and to promote the removal of payments restrictions on international trade. Over the years since then, despite the demise of the fixed exchange rate system and a steady decline in payments restrictions, the scope of the Fund's influence has grown. Why should this be?In broad terms, the answer is to be found in the increasing integration of the world economy. As trade and investment flows have grown, so too have the concerns of the international community for good economic management in individual national economies. ‘Spill-over’ effects have grown in size and importance, and with them the need for a framework to regulate their consequences.


2006 ◽  
Vol 36 (143) ◽  
pp. 177-183
Author(s):  
Naomi Klein

Fitting to its doctrine of preventiv war, the Bush Administration founded a bureau of reconstruction, designing reconstruction plans for countries which are still not destroyed. Reconstruction after war or after a “natural disaster” developed to a profitable branch of capitalist investment. Also the possibilities to change basic political and economic structures are high and they are widely used by the US-government and institutions like the International Monetary Fund.


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