IMF Survey Magazine: What Readers Say

IMFSurvey Magazine: What Readers Say

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn meets with doctors and patients in a disability hospital in Tanzania. Mr. Strauss-Kahn visited the hospital in March 2009 (IMF photo)

Concern over IMF Impact on Health Spending

December 11, 2009

Health activists concerned that IMF has critical, indirect impact on health spending, particularly through its advice related to budget deficits and inflation, writes Rick Rowden.

Social spending in IMF-supported programs
IMF response to the CGD report

GAO report on IMF lending programs
IMF study on fiscal policy and scaled up aid

Goal Is Efficient Credit Delivery, Not Just Profit

October 13, 2009
U.S. firms that benefit most from the complexity of thousands of deals seem to forget that the purpose of the exercise is to deliver credit and credit investment efficiently, not just to make profit for intermediaries, writes Robert Kent from New York City.

IMF Lending Reform Should Go Further

May 13, 2009
The IMF’s move toward more flexibility in its lending is welcome, but there are still problems with the conditions that are attached to IMF loans—particularly in poor countries, writes Jean-Pierre Dumas.

Africa Needs Trade and Investment, Not More Aid

April 02, 2009
Global fiscal stimulus and action to unblock the credit markets in the north will likely do more for Africa than another round of aid-financed government consumption, writes Robert Liebenthal from Zambia.

Reducing Uncertainty

March 18, 2009
When uncertainty reigns and the economic environment is highly complex, the result is often extreme caution on the part of investors, consumers and firms. This behavior, in turn, feeds the crisis. To get the economy going again, we must reduce uncertainty, writes Tayo Fagbule.

Crisis Breeds 'Fear Psychosis'

February 18, 2009
Talk of recession has created a fear psychosis among consumers that has little basis in reality, leading to underutilized capacity and job cuts. To break the vicious circle, governments should promote sectors that foster employment and growth, writes Mahendra Dash.

Are 'Temporary' Fiscal Boost Measures Really Reversible?

January 28, 2009
Fiscal measures to stimulate sluggish economies should be reversible, the IMF recommends, and governments should precommit to unwinding once economies recover. But the bulk of Europe's public expenditures are entitlements and for political reasons they are not reversible, writes Jean-Pierre Dumas.

Fiscal Boosts May Create Problems for Developing Countries

December 31, 2008
The merits of loosening fiscal policy to combat recession seem focused on the advanced countries. Unfortunately, many developing countries infer that looser monetary policy and fiscal stimulus will revive their economies. This is creating problems, writes Edi Segura.

Need to Invest More in the Food Supply Chain

May 14, 2008
Sustainable development of a food supply chain requires developing complex and complementary forms of expertise. The International Commission for Food Industries has been training agri-food sector personnel. Collaborative efforts with the IMF would enhance its effectiveness.

Good Times Hide Latin America's Frailties

May 08, 2007
Every Latin American indicator that looks good today will look lousy if the external environment deteriorates, Ernesto Talvi, Executive Director of the Center for the Study of Economic and Social Affairs, writes from Montevideo, Uruguay.

Is the 35-Hour Workweek Really Bad for France?

March 22, 2007
Jennifer Hunt of McGill University wants to double-check the findings of an IMF study that found France's 35-hour workweek had not achieved its overall objectives. The study argued that the shorter workweek had failed to create more jobs and had generated a mainly negative reaction from both companies and workers.

BRICs Drive Global Economic Recovery

July 22, 2009
We may be witnessing the emergence of a new world order, with countries such as Brazil, Russia, India, and China supplanting the industrial countries as the lead economic powers, write Mario Lettieri and Paolo Raimondi.

Fresh Approach Needed in Banking System

April 14, 2009
Fresh, innovative thinking is needed to solve the deeply rooted problems in the banking sector. The IMF should spearhead a new compact between the world of finance and the real economy, writes Robert Regard.

Time to Rethink Global Economic Framework?

March 26, 2009
The buildup of debt in the United States and a handful of other countries fueled the growth of the world economy over the past few years, writes Rudolf Witske.

Let’s Revive Multilateral Consultations

February 23, 2009
There are ominous signs that countries are taking, contemplating, or continuing harmful unilateral action. The IMF has an important role to play in counteracting economic policies that harm other countries, writes J. Onno de Beaufort Wijnholds, a former IMF Executive Director.

Careless 'Doom and Gloom' Chatter

February 11, 2009
The next years are going to be very difficult, especially for those who are vulnerable to the consequences of economic contraction. But the IMF should not use rhetoric that fuels a downward spiral of disaster talk, writes Brett Hughes.

Don't Forget the Role Automatic Stabilizers Can Play

January 21, 2009
When recession hits a market economy, trends such as lower tax takes and higher unemployment benefit payouts effectively ease fiscal policy. These "automatic stabilizers" have a prominent role in European economies, writes Horst Siebert of the Kiel Institut.

Laissez-Faire States are Keynesian Now: How Refreshing!

December 30, 2008
U.S. economic orthodoxy once shunned government intervention and glorified laissez-faire policies. It is refreshing and edifying that the United States and some other developed economies have welcomed the Keynesian proposition of government involvement in business, writes Resa Imbuye.

Getting Plugged In

July 18, 2007
A U.S. participant in the IMF Institute's Distance Learning program shares her impression of the Financial Programming and Policies course that provides ten weeks of online training for mid-level officials who can't be away from their jobs for an extended period.

Symptoms of a "Failed Relationship"

March 23, 2007
Edwin M. Truman, a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington, D.C., argues that both the IMF and World Bank have a mutual interest in putting past rivalry behind them and implementating the Malan Report on Fund-Bank cooperation.

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The IMF Survey welcomes comments, suggestions, and brief readers' letters, a selection of which are posted under What readers say. Letters may be edited. Please address Internet correspondence to imfsurvey@imf.org.