Download or read book What Happens to Social Spending in IMF Supported Programs written by Mr.Masahiro Nozaki and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2011-08-31 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 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.

Download or read book Expenditure Conditionality in IMF supported Programs written by Mr.Sanjeev Gupta and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2018-12-07 with total page 31 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper studies the impact of expenditure conditionality in IMF programs on the composition of public spending. A granular dataset on different government expenditure conditions covering 115 countries for the 1992-2016 period is compiled. The results support the view that while conditionality on specific elements of spending could help achieve a program’s short-term objectives, it is structural conditionality which delivers lasting benefits. Structural public financial management conditionality (such as on budget execution and control) has proven to be effective in boosting the long-term level of education, health, and public investment expenditures. The results further indicate that conditionality on raising such spending may come at the expense of other expenditures. Finally, the successful implementation (and not mere existence) of the conditionality is crucial for improved outcomes. These findings are relevant for policy makers targeting achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Download or read book A Strategy for IMF Engagement on Social Spending written by International Monetary Fund. Fiscal Affairs Dept. and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2019-06-14 with total page 76 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper uses case studies to explore the nature and extent of past IMF engagement on social spending issues and to draw lessons for future engagement.

Download or read book IMF Supported Programs in Low Income Countries written by Mr.Christian Mumssen and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2014-01-15 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper studies the short and longer-term impact of IMF engagement in Low-Income Countries (LICs) over nearly three decades. In contrast to earlier studies, we focus on a sample composed exclusively of LICs and disentangle the different effects of IMF longer-term engagement and short-term financing using a propensity score matching approach to control for selection bias. Our results indicate that longer-term IMF support (at least five years of program engagement per decade) helped LICs sustain economic growth and boost resilience by building fiscal buffers. Interestingly, the size of IMF financing has no significant impact on economic growth, possibly pointing to the prominent role of IMF policy advice and institutional capacity building in the context of longer-term engagement. We also present evidence that the short-term IMF engagement through augmentations of existing programs or short-term and emergency facilities is positively associated with a wide range of macroeconomic outcomes. Notably, the IMF financial support has the greatest impact on short-term growth when LICs are faced with substantial macroeconomic imbalances or exogenous shocks.

Download or read book IMF Supported Programs written by Mr.Ashoka Mody and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2006-04-03 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Research work by the IMF’s staff on the effectiveness of the country programs the organization supports, which has long been carried out, has intensified in recent years. IMF analysts have sought to “open up the black box” by more closely examining program design and implementation, as well as how these influence programs’ effectiveness. Their efforts have also focused on identifying the lending, signaling, and monitoring features of the IMF that may affect member countries’ economic performance. This book reports on a large portion of both the new and the continuing research. It concludes that IMF programs work best where domestic politics and institutions permit the timely implementation of the necessary measures and when a country is vulnerable to, but not yet in, a crisis. It points to the need for a wider recognition of the substantial diversity among IMF member countries and for programs to be tailored accordingly while broadly maintaining the IMF’s general principle of uniformity of treatment.

Download or read book The Economic Impact of IMF Supported Programs in Low Income Countries written by Yasemin Bal-Gunduz and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2013-10-04 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This paper aims to assess the economic impact of the IMF’s support through its facilities for low-income countries. It relies on two complementary econometric analyses: the first investigates the longer-term impact of IMF engagement—primarily through successive medium-term programs under the Extended Credit Facility and its predecessors (and more recently the Policy Support Instrument)—on economic growth and a range of other indicators and socioeconomic outcomes; the second focuses on the role of IMF shock-related financing—through augmentations of Extended Credit Facility arrangements and short-term and emergency financing instruments—on short-term macroeconomic performance.

Download or read book Fiscal Adjustment in IMF Supported Programs written by International Monetary Fund. Independent Evaluation Office and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2003-11-17 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using a cross-country sample of 169 IMF-supported programs and detailed studies of 15 programs, this evaluation report examines various aspects of fiscal adjustment in IMF-supported programs. It presents evidence that does not support some critics’ view that IMF-supported programs typically adopt a one-size-fits-all approach to fiscal adjustment, nor the perception that programs always involve austerity by targeting reductions in public spending. The report also proposes a number of recommendations for IMF surveillance and program design in the future.

Download or read book Social Issues in IMF Supported Programs written by Mr.Louis Dicks-Mireaux and published by INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND. This book was released on 2000-01-13 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As part of its mandate, the IMF seeks to create the conditions necessary for sustained high-quality growth, which encompasses a broad range of elements. These include sound macroeconomic policies, growth-enhancing structural reforms, good governance, and such social policies as cost-effective social safety nets and targeted social expenditures. This paper reviews the IMF's policy advice in two key areas of social policy: social safety nets and public spending on education and health care. It was initiated as part of the work by the World Bank and IMF to strengthen the poverty focus of adjustment programs in low-income countries, in particular within the framework of the Initiative for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPCs).

Download or read book Operational Guidance Note for IMF Engagement on Social Spending Issues written by International Monetary Fund. Strategy, Policy, & Review Department and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2024-04-30 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This note provides general guidance on the operationalization of the strategy for IMF engagement on social spending. Social spending plays a critical role as a key lever for promoting inclusive growth, addressing inequality, protecting vulnerable groups during structural change and adjustment, smoothing consumption over the lifecycle, and stabilizing demand during economic shocks. Social spending policies have also been playing an important role in tackling the structural challenges associated with demographic shifts, gender inequality, technological advances, and climate change. This note builds on a series of notes on IMF engagement on specific social spending issues since the publication of the 2019 strategy paper and provides operational guidance on when and how to engage on social spending issues, in the context of surveillance, IMF-supported programs, and capacity development.

Download or read book IMF Engagement on Health Spending Issues in Surveillance and Program Work written by Mauricio Soto and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2023-12-22 with total page 57 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: IMF country teams have become increasingly engaged on health spending issues in surveillance and program work, and more so since the COVID-19 pandemic. The primary objectives of health spending are to improve health outcomes and provide protection to households against high financial costs of health care. The Fund’s engagement on health spending issues is guided by an assessment of its macro-criticality, with the scope and purpose of engagement varying across countries and depending on whether it occurs in surveillance or program contexts. This technical note discusses how to assess the macro-criticality of health spending and reviews appropriate policy responses. The design and implementation of macro-critical health reforms often require specific sectoral knowledge and experience. Thus, this note emphasizes the importance of collaborating with development partners on health policy issues.

Download or read book International Monetary Fund Annual Report 2021 written by International Monetary Fund. Secretary's Department and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2021-10-04 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A recovery is underway, but the economic fallout from the global pandemic could be with us for years to come. With the crisis exacerbating prepandemic vulnerabilities, country prospects are diverging. Nearly half of emerging market and developing economies and some middle-income countries are now at risk of falling further behind, undoing much of the progress made toward achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Download or read book Growth and Adjustment in IMF Supported Programs written by International Monetary Fund. Independent Evaluation Office and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2021-09-09 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This evaluation assesses how well IMF-supported programs helped to sustain economic growth while delivering adjustment needed for external viability over the period 2008–19. The evaluation finds that the Fund’s increasing attention to growth in the programs has delivered some positive results. Specifically, it does not find evidence of a consistent bias towards excessive austerity in IMF-supported programs. Indeed, programs have yielded growth benefits relative to a counterfactual of no Fund engagement and boosted post-program growth performance. Notwithstanding these positive findings, program growth outcomes consistently fell short of program projections. Such shortfalls imply less protection of incomes than intended, fuel adjustment fatigue and public opposition to reforms, and jeopardize progress towards external viability. The evaluation examines how different policy instruments were applied to support better growth outcomes while achieving needed adjustment. Fiscal policies typically incorporated growth-friendly measures but with mixed success. Despite some success in promoting reforms and growth, structural conditionalities were of relatively low depth and their potential growth benefits were not fully realized. Use of the exchange rate as a policy tool to support growth and external adjustment during programs was quite limited. Lastly, market debt operations were useful in some cases to restore debt sustainability and renew market access, yet sometimes were too little and too late to deliver the intended benefits. The evaluation concludes that the IMF should seek to further enhance program countries’ capacity to sustain activity while undertaking needed adjustment during the program and to enhance growth prospects beyond the program. Following this conclusion, the report sets out three recommendations aimed at strengthening attention to growth implications of IMF-supported programs, including the social and distributional consequences.

Download or read book The IMF and The Poor written by Sanjeev Gupta and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 1998-09-02 with total page 40 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The IMF is increasingly emphasizing "high-quality growth" - that is, growth that is sustainable, that is accompanied by appropriate domestic and external balances, that respects the environment, and that is aided by policies that reduce poverty and foster greater equity. This pamphlet focuses on how the IMF works to reduce poverty and improve equity.

Download or read book Creating Policy Space in Low Income Countries during the Recent Crises written by Mr.Paolo Dudine and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2010-03-16 with total page 58 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Low-income countries were hit especially hard by sharp increases in world food and fuel prices in 2007-08 and the global financial crisis that followed. In response, the International Monetary Fund scaled up its financial assistance to low-income countries and revamped its concessional lending facilities to make them more flexible in meeting the diverse needs of these countries. Creating Policy Space in Low-Income Countries during the Recent Crises assesses empirically the outcome of the IMF response, and provides insight into how IMF-supported programs in low-income countries have been adapted to the changing economic circumstances in these countries. The authors report that these programs have provided expanded policy space in the face of the global price shocks and financial crisis.

Download or read book The IMF and Human Development written by Michel Camdessus and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2000-03-06 with total page 36 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During his tenure as Managing Director of the IMF, and in his interactions with civil society, Michel Camdessus was asked many questions related to the IMF's role in development. This pamphlet collects questions frequently asked by civil society around the world and the responses given by Mr. Camdessus that help to clarify the IMF position on human development.

Download or read book IMF Programs written by Robert J. Barro and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: IMF lending practices respond to economic conditions but are also sensitive to political-economy variables. Specifically, the sizes and frequencies of loans are influenced by a country's presence at the Fund, as measured by the country's share of quotas and professional staff. IMF lending is also sensitive to a country's political and economic proximity to some major shareholding countries of the IMF -- the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. We measured political proximity by voting patterns in the United Nations and economic proximity by bilateral trading volumes. These results are of considerable interest for their own sake but also provide instrumental variables for estimating the effects of IMF lending on economic performance. Instrumental estimates indicate that the size of IMF lending is insignificantly related to economic growth in the contemporaneous five-year period but has a significantly negative effect in the subsequent five years.

Download or read book International Monetary Fund Annual Report 2019 Financial Statements written by International Monetary Fund and published by International Monetary Fund. This book was released on 2019-10-04 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The audited consolidated financial statements of the International Monetary Fund as of April 30, 2019 and 2018