International Institutions - IMF

Page 1

Graham Bird - 'IMF Lending to Developing Countries: issues and evidence', Chapter 1, Pages 1-12

International Monetary Fund (IMF) as originally established in order to encourage international co-operation to cope with recession and protectionism on a world scale and to discourage individual countries from pursuing policies that would beggar their neighbours and eventually themselves

1944 - Bretton Woods Conference: looked to generate benefits for international trade in the form of stable exchange rates

1970s saw the IMF accepting a new and more specific role: reflected the evolving balance of payments problems which developing countries encountered during the 70/80s

IMF involvement with developing countries included both a financing and an adjustment element

By late 1981 - most IMF lending was to the least developed countries

Lending to developing countries was a response largely due to outside events, the IMF did not orchestrate this response: except wanting to avoid a major international financial crisis as a consequence of debt

Question of whether developing countries warrant special treatment within the IMF has been wrestled with by the IMF for much of its history