Combating the Crisis: How Have IMF Programs Fared?

Posted on September 30, 2009 by iMFdirect

By Reza Moghadam We’ve released a new paper earlier this week assessing the effectiveness of IMF-supported loan programs in combating the crisis in emerging markets. Although it is a bit early to be evaluating these programs, “real-time” cross-country reviews are important. In today’s blog, I want to pick up a few takeaways from our latest review. [...]

Filed under: Advanced Economies, Economic Crisis, Emerging Markets, Fiscal Stimulus, IMF | Tagged: , , , , , | 4 Comments »

The World Goes to Istanbul

Posted on September 28, 2009 by iMFdirect

By Caroline Atkinson In early October, economic policymakers representing the entire membership of the IMF, 186 countries in total, will gather in Istanbul for the Annual Meetings. More formally, the 2009 Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group and the IMF will be held in Istanbul, Turkey on October 6-7, [...]

Filed under: Annual Meetings, Civil Society, Economic Crisis | Tagged: , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Reserve Currencies in the Post-Crisis International Monetary System

Posted on September 24, 2009 by iMFdirect

By Reza Moghadam The dollar has been the cornerstone of the international monetary system since the Second World War. It is the most important reserve currency, accounting for at least two-thirds of reserve assets, according to the IMF’s Composition of Foreign Exchange Reserves database. Among central banks that do not report this information to the IMF, [...]

Filed under: Economic Crisis, Financial Crisis | Tagged: , , , , | 5 Comments »

High International Reserves: An Embarrassment of Riches?

Posted on September 23, 2009 by iMFdirect

By Reza Moghadam Once upon a time, those tracking international reserves focused on simple measures of reserve adequacy—enough to cover, say, 3 months of imports or all of the external debt maturing over the next year. However, the relevance of such yardsticks evaporated as a number of countries accumulated reserves that far surpass such levels, partly [...]

Filed under: Economic Crisis, Emerging Markets, Financial Crisis | Tagged: , , , , | 2 Comments »

Freedom of IMFormation

Posted on September 17, 2009 by iMFdirect

By Reza Moghadam With the global financial crisis, the world is increasingly looking to the International Monetary Fund—not just for financing but as the global institution charged with overseeing members’ economies and policies (what we call surveillance). It’s easy to forget that only 10 years ago the Fund was a secretive institution. That’s no longer the [...]

Filed under: Annual Meetings, Civil Society, Financial Crisis | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

IMF: A Big Enough Safety Net?

Posted on September 15, 2009 by iMFdirect

By Reza Moghadam As the financial crisis pulled the rug from under the emerging markets, analysts and policymakers alike began to question the adequacy of Fund resources.  This worry was neither new nor surprising. For decades, private international capital flows had grown at a much faster rate than those of the IMF, rendering our institution too [...]

Filed under: Economic Crisis, Emerging Markets, Financial Crisis, recession | Tagged: , , , , | 1 Comment »

IMF Helping Africa Through the Crisis

Posted on September 10, 2009 by iMFdirect

By Antoinette Sayeh I believe that Africa’s needs must be fully reflected in any global response to this unprecedented recession. With similar intentions, leading policymakers and stakeholders in Africa gathered in Tanzania last March to discuss how to work with the IMF on this. Under the leadership of President Kikwete and IMF Managing Director Strauss-Kahn, [...]

Filed under: Africa, concessional lending, Economic Crisis, International Monetary Fund, Low-income countries | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments »

Supporting an Upswing in Africa Through Good Economic Policies

Posted on September 9, 2009 by iMFdirect

By Antoinette Sayeh Ensuring that sub-Saharan Africa emerges strongly from global recession will require both a sustained recovery in the global economy and sound domestic policies. The good news is that domestic policies are already supporting economic activity. Many countries entered the crisis in much better shape than in the past. The region’s fiscal position [...]

Filed under: Africa, Economic Crisis, Financial Crisis, growth, LICs, Low-income countries, recession | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Sharing in the Global Upturn—Better Prospects for Africa

Posted on September 8, 2009 by iMFdirect

By Antoinette Sayeh The shape of the global recovery is on everybody’s mind. But how will it affect sub-Saharan Africa? A key lesson from the past is that global cycles matter for Africa. For sure, there have been definite idiosyncrasies in sub-Saharan African cycles–as will be discussed more fully in the forthcoming October issue of [...]

Filed under: Africa, concessional lending, Economic Crisis, growth, IMF, LICs, Low-income countries, Multilateral Cooperation, recession | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Africa and the Global Economic Crisis: Weathering the Storm

Posted on September 6, 2009 by iMFdirect

By Antoinette Sayeh Last week, my colleague Hugh Bredenkamp talked about how the IMF is helping the low-income countries overcome the global  economic crisis. This week, I want to follow this theme, but hone in more on sub-Saharan Africa. I know this region reasonably well, both from current and past vantage points. In my present [...]

Filed under: Africa, concessional lending, Debt Relief, Economic Crisis, growth, LICs, Low-income countries | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

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