The lectures will provide an overview of IMF economic surveillance, including the use of its financial programming tool. Students will discuss real country cases of bilateral surveillance and lending programs, and undertake their own analysis of a country case as a group, using the tools introduced in the course.
The Macroeconomist Training Program (MTP) is an outreach initiative to young scholars and professionals to help them gain an understanding of how the IMF uses financial programming and other tools to analyze macroeconomic issues and provide policy recommendations.
Under this program, selected applicants are invited for a residential workshop to join lectures by former IMF economists and undertake group work on a mock IMF-style country surveillance exercise.
Launched in August 2017, twenty-sixth MTP sessions have been held for a total of 507 youths from 57 countries* (as of March 2026). These courses have served as a launching pad to the full online courses offered by the IMF Institute for Capacity Development.
* On this site, the term "country" does not in all cases refer to a territorial entity that is a state as understood by international law and practice. As used here, the term also covers some territorial entities that are not states.
For the English course: Students studying in Japan on Master’s/ PhD degree programs in macroeconomics, international finance, development economics, and other related fields. Young professionals and undergraduate students can also apply.
For the Japanese course: Undergraduate students studying in Japan in macroeconomics, international finance, development economics, and other related fields. Students pursuing a master’s degree and young professionals may also apply.
A Certificate of Participation will be granted to participants who complete this workshop.
* JISPA scholars may receive lower priority in the selection process, as the JISPA Summer Workshop, exclusively offered to the scholars, covers the content of this program.
English course
Jerry Schiff (PhD)
Dr. Schiff is a former Deputy Director of the Asia and Pacific Department and Senior Advisor in the Office of the Managing Director at the IMF. More recently, he has also taught courses on macroeconomics and economic policy at American University, George Washington University and the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Public Policy.
Japanese course
Shogo Ishii (PhD)
Dr. Ishii serves as an IMF Consultant. Previously, he was the Director of the IMF Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific. He has also held a variety of senior positions at the IMF including mission chief for Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam and Senior Resident Representative in Thailand.
”It was very meaningful for me to analyze how the IMF develops policies from multiple perspectives such as financial, fiscal, and external sectors, not only through lectures but also by using real cases like Vietnam. I was also able to gain a systematic understanding of how these sectors interact with each other. In addition, through case studies, I clarified my understanding of how to interpret data such as assets and liabilities in government fiscal statistics, which had been unclear to me before. I would like to apply what I learned in this program to my future economic analysis in a practical way." -- Haruka Sakio from Japan, Yokohama National University (26th course)
”The three-day program was very informative for such a short duration. Each session was tightly structured, yet there was still space for discussion, questions, and informal exchanges. What stood out most was the balance between technical depth and practical relevance. The presenters didn’t just share information; they connected it to real case studies from different countries. Moreover, getting to know each other was extremely valuable. In just three days, the group developed trust and openness, sharing professional experiences and the realities of working in different countries." -- Samayya Qayyum from Pakistan, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (25th course)
”The lectures, especially the first one on the introduction to financial programming, were helpful. I knew the framework of the four sectors before the lectures but had little understanding of how that is used in practice by IMF staff. The well-structured lectures helped me improve my understanding of the work at the IMF very much." -- Kenji Nakada from Japan, The University of Tokyo (24th course)
”I was not a macroeconomics major (I am majoring in Commerce & Management), but I felt I gained a lot of knowledge from the course. I was able to ask Professor Ishii about what I didn't understand, so I could easily absorb the contents, which I had never learned before. Also, the team members were all enthusiastic about the project, and I gained a lot of knowledge through discussions with them. I was impressed to realise that I could make my own inferences to some extent from the macroeconomics data after the program." -- Issei Chinushi from Japan, Hitotsubashi University (23rd course)
”I really appreciate the part of the lectures which introduces the multiplier effect of economic factors. The graph of macroeconomic linkages helps me understand the interdependence of data in the country's economic outlook report. Especially, the figure of macrofinancial linkages is useful for me to analyze the effectiveness of policies and projects in UNDP and UNFCCC in my studies at United Nation University as well as in my career at Hong Kong Monetary Authority." -- Sheung Lun Chan from Hong Kong, Sophia University (22nd course)
"The most useful aspects of the workshop included revisiting fundamental macroeconomic theories, which refreshed my knowledge after several years of undergraduate study in economics and provide a good opportunity to learn the basic academic skills for my upcoming MBA programme. Also the case study on the IMF, which provided practical insights into its role and processes was highly useful. Additionally, the group presentation was valuable for learning from peers with gaining a greater expertise in macroeconomics, enhancing both my understanding and teamwork skills." -- Natsuko Kikkawa from Japan, University of Cambridge (21st course)
"Through the lectures, I was able to learn what kind of macroeconomic analysis is actually conducted in the field of policy making and surveying the economic situation of each country. In the group work, I was able to realize the difficulty of macroeconomic analysis, as there are multiple factors and issues that affect the economic situation, and we had to select what to prioritize in formulating policies." -- Sayaka Numano from Japan, Ochanomizu University (20th course)
"The group work is quite interesting and this kind of formal is relatively close to the work with other researchers in the real world. Analysis of one country's economy by the framework of dividing it into four sectors is quite useful. I will use this kind of method when I want to have a quick look of the current situation of an economy." -- Cunhao Li from China, Waseda University (19th course)
"The workshop provided us with a unique opportunity to delve into economic surveillance of countries, gaining valuable insights into how the IMF analyzes its member countries through financial programming and policy assessment and subsequently formulates policy recommendations. The knowledge and experiences gained during these three days will undoubtedly contribute to my growth as a Ph.D. candidate in Economics and also my future career." -- Mutita Ariyavutikul (Benz) from Thailand, National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (18th course)
"I find the program offers us excellent networking and the opportunity to have engaging discussions on relevant topics with people from diverse backgrounds. We were given adequate time for questions and answers to deepen our understanding of the topics. I feel that it was very interesting and informative to hear the opinions of the distinguished Professor Ishii and the various opinions of other participants." -- Cleo Eri Kyu from Japan, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (17th course)
"Through the workshop, I can try the IMF's analytic framework practically. With team members from diverse backgrounds, the discussion for the presentation was so exciting that I could expand my knowledge. As I am now researching economics at a private thinktank, I will apply the framework I learned to analyze the fiscal and financial imbalance in Japan." -- Kohei Kikuchi from Japan, King's College London (16th course)
"I found the case study the most useful. Before, I would have found it difficult to construct an economic snapshot of a country based on its macroeconomic data, but now I feel confident about drawing inferences from the data and identifying potential vulnerabilities of economies. And what made the whole experience memorable was being able to apply this learning to a group project with other talented students." -- Miyu Haraguchi from Japan, University of Oxford (15th course)
"I could not only learn about the framework the IMF uses for its analysis but also deeply understand it since I had opportunities, such as discussion and presentation, to share what I learned. Totally, I feel like I could manage to know what it is like to work in the IMF and what they work for." -- Daiki Yamashita from Japan, Kyoto University (14th course)
“As for me, it was just the revision of four sectors and I updated my knowledge on macroeconomics. However, it was great to learn new things from international lecturers and specialists. The most interesting part was economic surveillance, how economic organizations like the IMF deal with the economies. I really like the methods which the IMF uses for the evaluation of the economy.” -- Elbek Abdullaev from Uzbekistan, Saitama University (13th course)
“This program helped me to connect all the sectors of the economy and to see a bigger picture of the country, through looking at the economic data. Understanding about Balance of Payment was the most interesting and helpful part for me, since I have quite big interest in foreign exchange reserves.” -- Bolortuya Munkhbat from Mongolia, Saitama University (12th course)
“I was able to gain the experience of incorporating what I learned in the lecture and the knowledge of economics that I had accumulated so far into actual analysis, which greatly deepens my understanding. In addition, I learned the difficulty and the fun of analyzing a country’s economy through a group discussion in cooperation with team members.” -- Inbong Kim from Korea, The University of Hong Kong (11th course)
"Jerry Schiff was a fantastic lecturer. He explained the framework very clearly and I learned so many important insights from him. Breaking down a country's data into the four sectors really make it much easier to understand the overall picture. After this program, I feel like I now understand the problems I used to face back when I was working in the Department of Finance in the Philippines in much clearer ways." -- Leandro Inumerable from the Philippines, Hitotsubashi University (10th course)
"In addition to being able to observe and gain a deeper understanding of practical application of macroeconomics that I have been interested in, I began to aspire to bring meaningful impact to the global economy at an institution like the IMF. I would like to continue to gain opportunities to practice economic analysis." -- Akane Gonda from Japan, Keio University (9th course)
"I really enjoyed the lectures on financial programming design, as this is a great insight into IMF's way of looking at the economy." -- Bastien Guilleminot-Simon from France, The University of Tokyo (8th course)
"I learned a lot about the assessment process based on macroeconomic indicators." -- Quang Thanh Tran from Vietnam, Tohoku University (8th course)
"The assignment itself was very hands-on and reflects real life situations where many times you are required to accomplish tasks in a limited amount of time with a very limited amount of data." -- Jason Agius from Malta, Ritsumeikan University (7th course)
"Studying the country examples was also very helpful in understanding how the IMF conducts surveillance in member states." -- Secil Er from Turkey, Osaka University (7th course)
