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The IMF and the Future » (1st Edition)

Book cover image of The IMF and the Future by Graham Bird

Authors: Graham Bird
ISBN-13: 9780415299879, ISBN-10: 041529987X
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: Taylor & Francis, Inc.
Date Published: November 2002
Edition: 1st Edition

Author Biography: Graham Bird

Book Synopsis

The International Monetary Fund has been criticised 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.
Bringing together an array of articles, this excellent new book will undoubtedly be required reading for anyone with a serious interest in development studies as well as being an eye-opening read for policy makers involved with the IMF.

	List of figures
	List of tables
	Preface
	Acknowledgements
1	A suitable case for treatment?: understanding the ongoing debate about the IMF	1
2	Borrowing from the IMF: the policy implications of recent empirical research	31
3	IMF lending: how is it affected by economic, political and institutional factors?	44
4	IMF programmes - do they work? Can they be made to work better?	68
5	The effectiveness of conditionality and the political economy of policy reform: is it simply a matter of political will?	93
6	IMF programmes: is there a conditionality Laffer curve?	113
7	The credibility and signalling effect of IMF programmes	130
8	The IMF's role in mobilizing international capital: is there a catalytic effect?	141
9	Restructuring the IMF's lending facilities	163
10	Resourcing the Fund: direct borrowing from private capital markets	179
11	Crisis averter, crisis lender, crisis manager: the IMF in search of a systemic role	194
12	The IMF and developing countries: a review of the evidence and policy options	211
13	Political economy influences within the life cycle of IMF programmes	243
14	The political economy of the SDR: the rise and fall of an international reserve asset	267
	Index	291