Who Reveals? Transparency and the IMF's Article IV Consultations (original) (raw)

International Monetary Fund: Organization, Functions, and Role in the International Economy

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2004

The International Monetary Fund (IMF), conceived at the Bretton Woods conference in July 1944, has become the focal point of the international monetary system. Created in 1946 with 46 members, it has grown to include 184 countries. The IMF has six purposes that are outlined in Article I of the IMF Articles of Agreement. They are the promotion of international monetary cooperation; the expansion and balanced growth of international trade; exchange rate stability; the elimination of restrictions on the international flow of capital; insuring confidence by making the general resources of the Fund temporarily available to members; and the orderly adjustment of balance of payment (BOP) imbalances. At the Bretton Woods conference, the IMF was tasked with coordinating the system of fixed exchange rates to help the international economy recover from two world wars and the instability in the interwar period caused by competitive devaluations and protectionist trade policies. From 1946 until 1973, the IMF managed the 'par value adjustable peg' system. The U.S. dollar was fixed to gold at $35 per ounce, and all other member countries' currencies were fixed to the dollar at different rates. This system of fixed rates ended in 1973 when the United States removed itself from the gold standard. Floating exchange rates and more open capital markets in the 1990s created a new agenda for the IMF-the resolution of frequent and volatile international financial crises. The Asian financial crisis of 1997-8 and subsequent crises in Russia and Latin America revealed many weaknesses of the world monetary system. To better help it achieve its overall goal of promoting a stable international monetary system, the IMF's format has changed dramatically since it was created in 1945. Designed initially to provide short-term balance of payments (BOP) lending and monitor member countries' macroeconomic policies, the IMF has steadily incorporated microeconomic factors such as institutional and structural reforms into its activities. These had been seen previously as the exclusive province of the World Bank and other development agencies. The IMF found that, in order to pursue its core responsibilities in the changed world economy, it needed to pay greater attention to "second generation" reforms, as economists call these sorts of issues. IMF member countries agreed on a quota increase in 1997. The U.S. Congress subsequently appropriated additional funding for the IMF in October 1998 in the midst of the Asian financial crises, a decision that engendered considerable debate in light of growing criticism of the IMF and its lending practices. In 2002, the IMF did not request any additional increase in funding. Although appropriations of new funds for the IMF is not pending, Congress exercises oversight authority over U.S. policy at the IMF and over its lending practices. This report supports congressional oversight of the IMF by providing an understanding of its organization, functions, and role in the world economy. This report will be updated only if major events and new developments require.

International Monetary Fund (IMF).docx

] NURUL AIN FARHANA BINTI MOHD RIZDUAN [1324352] INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS [PSCI 2750] SECTION 2 DR. TUNKU MOHAR BIN TUNKU MOHD MOKHTAR SEMESTER 1, 2015/2016 INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY MALAYSIA 1 Running Head: International Monetary Fund [IMF] International Relations were defined as relations between 2 or more states in order to maintain a peace and security of the state. Due to that, many policy and organization were established in order all countries get the same authority. However, some of the international organization was established with purpose of help the states especially the poor state to develop such as International Monetary Fund (IMF). IMF or International Monetary Fund was an international organization headquartered in Washington, DC. It has been established in 27 December 1945 at the United Nation (UN) conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, United States. It was starting with 29 state members. Now, IMF existed with 188 state members around the world. 1

IMF Surveillance and the Legacy of Bretton Woods

2006

The "par value" exchange rate system designed at Bretton Woods clearly ended long ago, but a vital part of its legacy persists in the surveillance function of the International Monetary Fund. 1 From the beginning, political struggle has shaped its evolution. Its trajectory, especially after 1973, signaled a continuing attempt by the Fund's most powerful member-states to find the golden mean in a globalizing economy between binding monetary rules and unbridled national discretion. Principled intentions and ambiguous consequences have been the hallmarks of the surveillance role emanating from that attempt. That the role survives actually suggests a normative quest unbroken since 1944. That it remains the subject of tough criticism, sharp debate, and regular reform efforts, even as memories of the original rules and purposes of the par value system fade, suggests the endurance of a fundamental element of the Bretton Woods order. This paper elaborates such a claim.

The International Monetary Fund: A review of the recent evidence

The Review of International Organizations, 2008

A review of recent quantitative studies on the International Monetary Fund reveals that much of the conventional wisdom is incorrect. Recent studies have demonstrated a new degree of methodological rigor, have drawn more heavily upon insights from political science, and have asked a number of new questions. We review studies of participation in IMF programs, design of IMF conditionality, implementation and enforcement of IMF conditions, conventional program effects and catalytic effects. At every stage, we find substantial evidence of the influence of major IMF shareholders, of the Fund's own organizational imperatives, and of domestic politics within borrowing countries. We conclude that very little is known with certainty about the effects of IMF lending, but that a great deal has been learned about the mechanics of IMF programs that will have to be taken into account in order to obtain unbiased estimates of those effects.