The IMF and the Future

The International Monetary Fund has been criticized from both the right and the left of the political spectrum with the right arguing that it is too interventionist and creates more problems than it solves and the left on occasion demanding that it be abolished altogether. What seems almost beyond question is that the IMF needs to be reformed. Defining a future role for the IMF will always be a controversial issue, but vital to any considerations will be a measured assessment of how it has operated in the past. This excellent new book from an internationally respected expert on the IMF intends to do just that. Starting with an historical background tracing the evolution of the IMF. The book goes on to cover such themes as: The circumstances under which countries turn to the IMF The various aspects of IMF conditionality Institutional issues such as lending facilities and how the fund is resourced.

Graham Bird is Professor of Economics at the University of Surrey, and Director of the Survey Centre for International Economic Studies.

List of figures

vii

List of tables

ix

Preface

xi

Acknowledgements

xiv

1 A suitable case for treatment?: understanding the ongoing debate about the IMF

1

(30)

2 Borrowing from the IMF: the policy implications of recent empirical research

31

(13)

3 IMF lending: how is it affected by economic, political and institutional factors?

44

(24)

4 IMF programmes - do they work? Can they be made to work better?

68

(25)

5 The effectiveness of conditionality and the political

economy of policy reform: is it simply a matter of political will?

93

(20)

6 IMF programmes: is there a conditionality Laffer curve?

113

(17)

7 The credibility and signalling effect of IMF programmes

130

(11)

8 The IMF's role in mobilizing international capital: is there a catalytic effect?

141

(22)

9 Restructuring the IMF's lending facilities

163

(16)

10 Resourcing the Fund: direct borrowing from private capital markets

179

(15)

11 Crisis averter, crisis lender, crisis manager: the IMF in search of a systemic role

194

(17)

12 The IMF and developing countries: a review of the evidence and policy options

211

(32)

13 Political economy influences within the life cycle of IMF programmes

243

(24)

14 The political economy of the SDR: the rise and fall of an international reserve asset

267

(24)

Index

291

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The IMF and the Future

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials