Incomplete minutes of European CSO meeting with European IMF EDs, 13 April 2007
Global architecture
Environment
News
European governments told ‘put your money where your mouth is’ when committing new funds
Campaigners across Europe are telling governments to threaten to withhold funds from the World Bank unless specific changes are made to policy and practice.
Finance
News
IMF crisis prevention: running on the spot
Nearly ten years on from the Asian financial crisis and the IMF has yet to find a workable solution to the need for a precautionary financing arrangement that helps middle-income countries prevent financial crisis. The IMF’s inability to articulate a plan to mitigate global economic risks will force countries to continue searching for ways to self-insure.
Finance
News
IMF macroeconomic advice: 'thanks, but no thanks'
The IMF’s ability to dictate economic policy to member states is fraying because of lost credibility in the wake of its failures in East Asia, Argentina and Russia. Developing countries are now rejecting the Fund’s interference in their economies.
Finance
Analysis
Too much, too soon: IMF conditionality and inflation targeting
Gerald Epstein, professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts, finds that despite little evidence of the success of inflation targeting in promoting economic growth, employment creation or poverty reduction, the IMF is increasingly using loan conditions and technical assistance to push its use. There is an urgent need for viable alternatives that focus on employment generation, poverty reduction, export promotion and investment enhancement to be given more attention.
Finance
News
Fund inflexibility in Nicaragua disputed
The IMF has defended itself in response to a civil society campaign in Nicaragua
Finance
News
Tinkering at the edges of governance reform: IMF quota proposals
After months of official wrangling and European stalling, proposals for changing IMF quotas, which determine financial contributions and voting power in the organisation, have coalesced around a small ad hoc increase for four countries, a commitment to make the quota formula more closely match economic realities and an increase in the basic vote
Finance
News
UK parliament says support for Bank fossil fuel investments is unacceptable
The United Kingdom's accountability systems for World Bank and IMF policy have scored successes and failures over the summer of 2006. A cross-party parliamentary enquiry into the role of the IMF produced a hard hitting report that called for substantial reform. However the ministry responsible for World Bank policy has been criticised over its energy and climate change policy, latest aid white paper and its response to the IFC safeguard policy.
Conditionality
News
IMF strategic review: too little, too late?
The managing director's report on the medium-term strategic review released at the spring meetings was short on specific proposals for reform implementation and lacked commitments for improved democratic functioning or strengthened surveillance of large industrial countries.
Finance
Analysis
The IMF and capital flight: Redesigning the international financial architecture
The international financial system facilitates trillions of dollars of capital flight from developing and developed countries to onshore and offshore financial centres, with the active participation of banks and other financial institutions. The consequences are massive tax evasion, a resultant erosion of state budgets, and rising disrespect for the law. The relevant international organisations that, working together, can change this situation are the IMF, the OECD, and the UN.
Featured briefings
1 October 2024
Year one of World Bank Paris Agreement alignment in the energy sector: ‘green conditionality’ dwarfs green investments
New BWP research finds the Word Bank's approach to Paris alignment is being used to a significant extent to impose ‘green conditionalities' on borrowing countries, especially in the Global South.
3 July 2024
The Bretton Woods Observer: Summer 2024
3 July 2024
Is the World Bank rolling back commitments to citizen engagement, again?
Understanding the Bank’s chequered history with public, community and civil society participation is key for understanding what is at stake and what to do next.