{
  "title": "It’s Unofficial!",
  "publication": "IMF Blog, October 12, 2014",
  "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2014/10/12/its-unofficial",
  "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2014/10/12/its-unofficial",
  "overlayPath": "/en/blogs/articles/2014/10/12/its-unofficial/index.md",
  "summary": "Author: Sabina Bhatia",
  "sections": [
    {
      "heading": "Overview",
      "content": "- Author: Sabina Bhatia\n- Date: October 12, 2014\n- Context: Reflections from the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings, emphasizing the role of the non-official community (civil society organizations, members of parliament, academics, youth and labor groups)."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Participation and engagement",
      "content": "- Over 600 civil society organizations, including members of parliament, academics, and several youth and labor groups, attended the meetings.\n- Civil society deliberated on issues that mirror official debates: jobs, inequality, gender, sovereign debt, Ebola, and youth engagement."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Jobs and macroeconomic policy",
      "content": "- Central concern: persistent unemployment and \"jobless recovery\" in many parts of the world.\n- Notable remarks:\n  - IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde: if the unemployed formed a country, they would be the world’s 5th largest country.\n  - ILO’s Guy Ryder: “a major policy effort is needed to reverse the slide into persistent low growth…the priority must be to lift aggregate global demand.”\n- Policy support observed in corridors:\n  - Broad support for the IMF’s recommendations to increase public investment in infrastructure.\n- Forward-looking commitment:\n  - The Fund will be operationalizing jobs into its work."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Inequality",
      "content": "- Inequality emerged frequently in civil society conversations and resonated with recent IMF work (Ostry/Berg and Gupta/Keen).\n- Commentary:\n  - Justin Wolfers: “In the 1980s, the IMF was all about fiscal austerity—today, its focus on inequality marks an astonishing transformation.”\n- Civil society calls:\n  - Oxfam and the ITUC urged the Fund to pay greater attention to country-level conditions and what is happening on the ground.\n- Forward-looking commitment:\n  - The Fund will be operationalizing inequality into its work."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Gender and women in the workforce",
      "content": "- Key points:\n  - Ambassador Melanne Verveer: women face “a sticky floor, a glass ceiling, and lots of men in the middle.”\n  - Christine Lagarde: bringing more women into the workforce would be an “economic game changer.”\n- Reaction:\n  - Many young women were surprised and heartened by the IMF’s emphasis on women in the workforce.\n- Forward-looking commitment:\n  - The Fund will be operationalizing gender into its work."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Sovereign debt debate",
      "content": "- Topic prominence:\n  - Sovereign Debt was a hotly debated topic at the civil society forum.\n- Context:\n  - The debate followed an IMF paper released the prior week on collective action clauses.\n- Civil society perspective:\n  - Reminder that the IMF could not, and in fact should not, try to do everything.\n  - CIGI’s Brett House and Jubilee USA convened a panel debating the benefits of a statutory approach versus a contractual approach.\n- Status:\n  - This remains an ongoing conversation."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Ebola and international response",
      "content": "- Tone:\n  - Ebola and its tragic toll lent a note of sadness to the Meetings.\n- Actions and reactions:\n  - The IMF, the World Bank, and other donors met with leaders of the three affected countries and pledged international help.\n  - Many participants from the region urged the international community to step up efforts.\n  - Jeremy Lefroy, UK member of parliament, led a delegation of parliamentarians expressing similar concerns.\n- IMF financing:\n  - The IMF provided additional and immediate financing of $130 million to the three affected countries."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Youth, innovation, and entrepreneurship",
      "content": "- Highlight:\n  - The participation of youth was described as the highpoint of the meetings.\n- Panel on innovation and entrepreneurship:\n  - Five young men and women spoke about their dreams, aspirations, and pathways to success.\n  - Gulalai Ismail: “to assert change, the youth need to engage in the decision making process, but they also need good mentors to make a head start.”\n- Youth essay contest:\n  - Winners of the Latin America youth essay contest were featured and their essays were highlighted as inspiring."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Notable external recognition",
      "content": "- Nobel Peace Prize announced during the week:\n  - Awarded to India's Kailash Satyarthi and Pakistan's Malala Yousafzai for their struggles for young people's rights, including the right to education."
    },
    {
      "heading": "Looking ahead — key dates in 2015",
      "content": "- Civil society is focusing on three major events in 2015:\n  - The Financing for Development Conference in Addis Ababa in July.\n  - The High Level Stocktaking Event on the Post 2015 Development Agenda in New York in September.\n  - The Climate Summit in Paris in December.\n- Quotation on 2015:\n  - Christine Lagarde: “2015 is shaping up to be a make or break year.”\n\nSource: It’s Unofficial! — Sabina Bhatia, October 12, 2014\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings\n- WEO\n- Ostry/Berg\n- Gupta/Keen\n- panel\n- paper\n- https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/15486862125f64d775853z.jpg\n- IMF and the World Bank\n- panel\n- essays\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/blogs/articles/2014/10/12/its-unofficial"
    }
  ],
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    "Authors: Sabina Bhatia",
    "Published: October 12, 2014",
    "Author: Sabina Bhatia",
    "Date: October 12, 2014",
    "Context: Reflections from the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings, emphasizing the role of the non-official community (civil society organizations, members of parliament, academics, youth and labor groups).",
    "Over 600 civil society organizations, including members of parliament, academics, and several youth and labor groups, attended the meetings.",
    "Civil society deliberated on issues that mirror official debates: jobs, inequality, gender, sovereign debt, Ebola, and youth engagement.",
    "Central concern: persistent unemployment and \"jobless recovery\" in many parts of the world.",
    "Notable remarks:",
    "Policy support observed in corridors:",
    "Forward-looking commitment:",
    "Inequality emerged frequently in civil society conversations and resonated with recent IMF work (Ostry/Berg and Gupta/Keen).",
    "Commentary:",
    "Civil society calls:",
    "Forward-looking commitment:",
    "Key points:",
    "Reaction:",
    "Forward-looking commitment:",
    "Topic prominence:",
    "Context:",
    "Civil society perspective:",
    "Status:",
    "Tone:",
    "Actions and reactions:",
    "IMF financing:",
    "Highlight:",
    "Panel on innovation and entrepreneurship:",
    "Youth essay contest:",
    "Nobel Peace Prize announced during the week:",
    "Civil society is focusing on three major events in 2015:",
    "Quotation on 2015:",
    "[IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings](http://www.imf.org/external/am/2014/index.htm)",
    "[WEO](http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2014/02/)",
    "[Ostry/Berg](http://blogs.imf.org/2014/02/26/treating-inequality-with-redistribution-is-the-cure-worse-than-the-disease/)",
    "[Gupta/Keen](http://blogs.imf.org/2014/03/19/meeting-rising-pressures-to-address-income-inequality-a-users-guide/)",
    "[panel](http://www.imf.org/external/mmedia/view.aspx?vid=3828227333001l)",
    "[paper](http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2014/pr14459.htm)",
    "[https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/15486862125_f64d775853_z.jpg](https://www.imf.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/15486862125_f64d775853_z.jpg)",
    "[IMF and the World Bank](http://www.imf.org/external/mmedia/view.aspx?vid=3830643908001)",
    "[panel](http://www.imf.org/external/mmedia/view.aspx?vid=3826536442001)",
    "[essays](http://www.imf.org/external/np/seminars/eng/2014/imflima2015/youth/)"
  ],
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