Policy Papers
2023
April 13, 2023
The Managing Director's Global Policy Agenda, Spring Meetings 2023: Safeguard Economic Stability, Support Vulnerable Countries, Sustain Our Future Prosperity
Description: The global economy is at another highly uncertain moment: tentative signs of stabilization earlier this year have receded, and the outlook is increasingly risky and uncertain. At the same time, divisions within and across countries are deepening, exacerbated by rising fragmentation. Strong policy action is needed together with pragmatic approaches to find areas of common ground to respond to shared challenges. The IMF is proactively engaging with our members to chart a clear course to a stronger and more sustainable path for the global economy.
April 12, 2023
Development Committee: The Managing Director's Written Statement April 2023
Description: Tentative signs of stabilization of the global economy have receded with recent financial sector turmoil. Headline inflation is moderating on the back of retreating commodity prices, but sticky underlying price pressures are complicating disinflation efforts. While growth in low-income developing countries (LIDCs) has been higher than in the rest of the world, its level is insufficient to address momentous challenges that range from combatting poverty to coping with climate change. Moreover, elevated debt levels and higher borrowing costs due to tighter global financial conditions leave policymakers with little fiscal space. Containing inflation, safeguarding financial stability, and protecting the vulnerable remain immediate policy priorities. At the same time, countries need to preserve or—in some cases—restore debt sustainability, which often requires better targeting of fiscally costly support measures taken in response to the COVID and commodity price shocks. Multilateral cooperation is more important than ever as many challenges are global, but it is acutely under threat from fragmentation.
April 11, 2023
Review of Implementation of The 2018 Framework for Enhanced Fund Engagement on Governance
Description: This paper reviews the implementation of the “2018 Framework for Enhanced Fund Engagement on Governance” (the “2018 Governance Framework”). The Board adopted the 2018 Governance Framework to promote a more systematic, effective, candid, and evenhanded engagement with member countries regarding corruption of macro critical dimensions and governance vulnerabilities that allow corruption. Building upon various sources of information, including surveys with key stakeholders, the paper provides a comprehensive stocktaking of the Fund’s work in governance and corruption since 2018, and makes specific proposals to further improve implementation of the Framework.
April 11, 2023
IMF Approach to Central Bank Digital Currency Capacity Development
Description: The global central banking community is actively exploring Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs), which may have a fundamental impact on both domestic and international economic and financial stability. Over 40 countries have approached the IMF to request assistance through CBDC capacity development (CD). Current IMF CBDC CD efforts have focused on facilitating peer learning and developing analytical underpinnings for staff advice to member countries. CD missions have aimed at helping country authorities answer questions about how to think about CBDCs. With more available country experiments and empirical evidence, IMF CD will evolve to provide increased value-added advice more tailored to country circumstances and more solidly anchored in empirical and analytical work, and strengthen synergies with surveillance. This paper sketches a multi-year strategy to address frequently asked questions related to CBDC and outlines the process for developing a CBDC Handbook which will document emerging lessons, analytical findings, and policy views. The paper (1) explains the IMF’s approach to CBDC CD; (2) summarizes member countries’ emerging questions and challenges regarding CBDC; and (3) introduces the CBDC Handbook by motivating its scope and elucidating its governance structure.
April 3, 2023
Review of the Role of Trade in the Work of the Fund
Description: This paper outlines key changes in the global trade landscape in recent years, reviews the role of the Fund in this area, and outlines a trade strategy for the Fund going forward. The analysis points to three key messages. First, while trade has been resilient vis-à-vis recent global shocks, the deteriorating trade policy environment poses risks to the current levels of prosperity. Second, the Fund has responded quickly to key trade developments in its multilateral surveillance, but attention to trade policy has declined pointing to the need of improved expertise. Third, a reinvigorated trade strategy for the Fund would help country authorities to address key challenges, including adjusting to structural changes associated with climate change and new technologies; promoting policy coherence between trade and non-trade objectives such as climate, inequality, and security; and managing rising geopolitical tensions and risks of geo-economic fragmentation.
Notes:
Online Appendix I. Management Engagements and IMF Research on Trade Press Release: IMF Executive Board Concludes the Review of the Role of Trade in the Work of the Fund
March 31, 2023
Review of the Fund’s Policy on Multiple Currency Practices—Extension of the Effective Date
Description: In July 2022, the Executive Board concluded the review of the Fund’s policy on multiple currency practices. It was planned that the revised policy would come into effect on April 1, 2023. The Board supported staff’s proposal to extend the transitional period and to delay the effectiveness date to November 1, 2023, to allow more time to country authorities to make the necessary changes to adjust to the new policy, especially given the challenging external environment. The longer transition will also leave more time to finalize the guidance note and to conduct an outreach with stakeholders. Elements of the revised policy which became effective immediately on July 1, 2022 will continue to apply as envisaged during the transitional period.
March 24, 2023
Implementation Plan in Response to the Board-Endorsed Recommendations from the IEO Evaluation Report on IMF Engagement with Small Developing States
Description: This paper presents a Management Implementation Plan (MIP) with actions to take forward the Board-endorsed recommendations from the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO)’s report on IMF Engagement with Small Developing States (SDS). The actions in the MIP are broad in scope, touching on all modalities of the Fund’s engagement with SDS, and seek to be comprehensive, self-reinforcing, cost-effective, and designed to be adopted as a package. The MIP aims to support a targeted and effective recalibration of engagement with SDS; enhance IMF’s surveillance and capacity development in SDS members; strengthen the Fund’s lending engagement with SDS, in line with the applicable policy frameworks; and secure an effective, well-tailored and more continuous staff presence in SDS.
March 22, 2023
Staff Guidance Note on The Implementation of The IMF Strategy for Fragile and Conflict-Affected States (FCS)
Description: This note provides operational advice and information to help staff implement the IMF Strategy for Fragile and Conflict-Affected States (FCS) approved by the Executive Board on March 9, 2022. Topics covered include (i) the new IMF FCS classification methodology, which is aligned with that of the World Bank; (ii) the preparation of Country Engagement Strategies (CES) that will be rolled out across FCS to ensure that Fund engagement is appropriately tailored to country-specific manifestations of fragility and/or conflict; (iii) advice on tailoring the thematic focus of Article IV consultations and Fund analytics to FCS, as well as on the prioritization, design, and implementation of capacity development (CD) projects in fragile contexts; (iv) guidance on making full use of the flexibilities of the lending toolkit; (v) guidance on engaging in specific FCS situations, including building accountable institutions to exit fragility, cases of rising fragility risks, active conflict, post-conflict, and addressing the impact of external shocks and spillovers; and (v) strengthening partnerships with humanitarian, development, and peace actors, in accordance with the Fund’s mandate. Dedicated annexes provide additional information on the CES process, addressing good governance in FCS, program design, and country examples of Fund engagement in FCS.
Notes:
March 20, 2023
Statement by the Managing Director on the Independent Evaluation Office Report on The IMF’s Emergency Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Executive Board Meeting March 13, 2023
Description: As the evaluation notes, the Fund’s rapid response was not without costs and risks. The decision to provide extraordinary access, including through emergency financing, in the face of this unprecedented crisis has inevitably raised pressures on the Fund’s own, and its members’, balance sheets. Moreover, according to the report, some stakeholders did not feel adequately consulted in the initial weeks of the pandemic, staff experienced enormous work pressures, and in at least a few instances, national authorities did not perceive that the way policy guidance on 2 access was applied was entirely evenhanded. I am confident we can learn from the experience and do even better in the future; and I believe the IEO’s high-level recommendations will help us to do so.
March 20, 2023
The Chair’s Summing Up Independent Evaluation Office—The IMF’s Emergency Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
Description: (IEO), which provides an early evaluation of the Fund’s emergency response to the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic and seeks to draw lessons from the experience for responding to possible future global crises. They highlighted the report’s key finding that the Fund’s response was effective and agile to a crisis like no other, despite the extraordinary challenges and risks, as the Fund rapidly adapted its lending framework and internal processes to serve the membership, help to close large financing gaps, and give confidence to the membership and markets by making its resources available expeditiously under adequate safeguards. Besides lending, Directors noted that the Fund also undertook useful analytical work and gave extensive and timely policy advice and capacity development. They welcomed the report’s finding that the Fund’s corporate response was adapted quickly, including by reprioritizing work, introducing HR and budget initiatives, and swiftly embracing the virtual environment. Directors especially commended staff for their strong dedication during these challenging circumstances.