IMF, WTO, WB Flashcards
What type of organization is the IMF?
Intergovernmental organization
When was the IMF established?
1947
Where was IMF located?
Washington, DC
How many member states are there in IMF?
!86 states
IMF was created as part of the___
1944 Bretton Woods agreement.
IMF charged with overseeing the __________ to ensure __________ and encouraging members to eliminate restrictions on trade and currency exchange (Heywood, 2011).
international monetary system
exchange rate stability
the price at which one currency is exchanged for another (Heywood, 2011).
exchange rate
a payments system in which currencies are valued in terms of a currency that is itself on the ‘gold standard’ (its currency can be exchanged for gold) (Heywood, 2011).
gold exchange standard
the reduction in the official rate at which one currency is exchanged for another (Heywood, 2011).
devaluation
Bretton Woods system collapsed in ____
1971
IMF’s role switched ________ deal with the consequences of floating exchange rates and the oil crises of 1973 and 1979.
to helping countries
From the early 1980s onwards, the IMF increasingly focused on __________ afflicted with debt crises and, in due course, transition countries (Heywood, 2011).
supporting developing countries
ROLES OF IMF
- Facilitate the cooperation of countries on monetary policy
- Assist the liberalization of international trade
- Help stabilize exchange rates between countries
- Maintain a multilateral system of payments that eliminates foreign exchange restrictions
- Provide a safeguard to members of the IMF against balance of payments crises
- Try to reduce the effects of volatility in countries’ balance of payments accounts
each year, the IMF sends economists to each of its member countries to analyze the country’s economic situation.
surveillance
during the surveillance, the team examines the following:
fiscal and monetary policy, exchange rate, general macroeconomic stability, and any related policies, such as labor policy, trade policy, and social policy (such as the pension system)
activity of the IMF where member countries with balance of payments problems can receive credits and loans to pay off their obligations and readjust their economic policies so that they will not face another crisis or near-crisis.
Financial assistance
the IMF provides technical assistance on
_______
these programs are aimed at strengthening developing countries’ abilities to reform and properly manage their macroeconomic policies
on fiscal and monetary policy, regulatory procedures, tax policy, and collection of statistics, among other issues
what are the criticisms on IMF
1.Fiscal discipline
2.Redirection of public spending toward education, health, and infrastructure.
3.Tax reform
4. Market-determined interest rates.
5. Competitive exchange rates.
6. Trade liberalization (that is, eliminating quotas and tariffs).
7. Openness to foreign direct investment.
8. Privatization of state enterprises.
9. Deregulation.
10. Legal security for property rights
Nobel Prize-winning US economist
Joseph Stiglitz (1943)
Chair of President Clinton’s Council of
Economic Advisors on
1995 to 1997
Chief economist of the World Bank
1997-2000
known for his critical views on ______ and on _____
global economic governance
globalization
TRUE OR FALSE
He argued that the IMF had imposed
policies on developing countries that
never exacerbated; thus, relieved,
balance-of-payments crises, being
designed more to help banking and
financial interests in the developed
world than to alleviate poverty.
FALSE
argued that the IMF had imposed
policies on developing countries that
often exacerbated, rather than relieved,
balance-of-payments crises, being
designed more to help banking and
financial interests in the developed
world than to alleviate poverty.
in Making Globalization Work (2006), he
linked globalization to
‘Americanization
