Is the PRGF Living Up to Expectations?


Book Description

In late 1999 the IMF established the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF) to integrate the objectives of poverty reduction and growth more fully into its operations for the poorest countries, and to base these operations on national poverty reduction strategies prepared by the country with broad participation of key stakeholders. A review of the program would be conducted two years later. This paper synthesizes two papers prepared by IMF staff: Review of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility: Issues and Options, and Review of the Key Features of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility: Staff Analyses. The paper draws on a broad range of internal and external views gathered between July 2001 and February 2002, including discussions at regional forums, meetings with donor government officials and representatives of civil society organizations, and comments of key officials in member countries with PRGF arrangements.







What Happens to Social Spending in IMF-Supported Programs?


Book Description

Staff Discussion Notes showcase the latest policy-related analysis and research being developed by individual IMF staff and are published to elicit comment and to further debate. These papers are generally brief and written in nontechnical language, and so are aimed at a broad audience interested in economic policy issues. This Web-only series replaced Staff Position Notes in January 2011.




Monetary and Fiscal Policy Design Issues in Low-Income Countries


Book Description

Considers possible adjustments in the design of Fund-supported programs, drawing on the experience of low-income countries that have successfully addressed the most apparent domestic macroeconomic imbalances.




Good Governance and Development


Book Description

An exploration of the implications of the 'good governance' agendas for developing and newly democratized countries. The book assesses the 'good governance' agenda and examines the view of the international development agencies. Finally it considers the contribution political science can make to an understanding of each dimension of governance.




Macroeconomic and Structural Policies in Fund-Supported Programs - Review of Experience


Book Description

A Fund-supported program is a package of envisaged policies which, combined with approved financing, is expected to achieve certain economic objectives such as fostering macroeconomic stability and orderly external adjustment, promoting growth and poverty reduction, and reducing vulnerability to future balance of payments problems or financial crises. This paper reviews experience with specific macroeconomic and structural policies intended to achieve these objectives.




The Low-Income Countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States


Book Description

The CIS-7 Initiative was launched in 2002 and endorsed by ministers from the CIS-7 and donor countries, with the objective of promoting poverty reduction, economic growth, and debt sustainability among the seven poorest countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). This volume draws from the follow-up conference held in Lucerne, Switzerland, in January 2003. The objective of this conference was to achieve an understanding of the development agenda in the seven countries and the key policy measures to be taken by the governments and donors to improve future prospects for the countries’ populations.




States, Nonstate Actors, and Global Governance


Book Description

This book addresses whether and how multilateral economic regimes can successfully transition from international institutions—cooperation among states—to global governance—cooperation among states and nonstate actors. The unprecedented era of peace and prosperity since World War II has been underpinned by multilateral economic regimes, yet in recent years the rise of nonstate actors has intensified international conflicts regarding fundamental questions of how to govern. This book asks whether and how multilateral regimes will be able to adapt. Based on an analysis of multilateral regimes for trade, investment, and poor-country debt, the author concludes that allmultilateral regimes—including those in the security, human rights, and environmental areas—face an increasingly existential challenge of reconciling the diverse ‘polity preferences’ of an ever-growing constituency of state and nonstate actors. This book’s key contribution is a single model of state and nonstate actor preference formation, which offers the reader a new way to understand the dynamics of twenty-first century global governance. States, Nonstate Actors, and Global Governancewill be of interest to students and scholars of international relations, economics, international institutions, global governance and international political economy.




GEM


Book Description

Over the past two years, the IMF staff has been developing a new multicountry macroeconomic model called the Global Economy Model (GEM). This paper explains why such a model is needed, how GEM differs from its predecessor model, and how the new features of the model can improve the IMF’s policy analysis. The paper is aimed at a general audience and avoids technical detail. It outlines the motivation, structure, strengths, and limitations of the model; examines three simulation exercises that have been completed; and discusses the future path of GEM.




Managing Financial Crises


Book Description

This paper seeks to draw lessons from the IMF’s experience in handling financial crises around the globe over the past ten years that are relevant to the challenges faced by countries in Latin America, especially in the wake of the recent crisis in Argentina. Experience suggests that there is no quick or easy fix in the face of a wide-ranging crisis involving both acute external financing pressures and rapidly changing asset prices that undermine financial stability and household and corporate balance sheets. In the end, effective solutions depend on developing a comprehensive strategy combining the full range of fiscal, monetary, financial system, and debt policy instruments. Recent experience with crises has had important implications for the IMF’s work in assessing crisis vulnerabilities. IMF surveillance work has been strengthened and a more objective framework has been developed for assessing debt sustainability, and this approach continues to be refined.