{ "title": "Transcript of a Press Briefing with William Murray, Deputy Spokesman, IMF Communications Department", "publication": "IMF News, July 28, 2016", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2016/07/28/20/30/tr072816-transcript-of-a-press-briefing-with-william-murray", "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2016/07/28/20/30/tr072816-transcript-of-a-press-briefing-with-william-murray", "overlayPath": "/en/news/articles/2016/07/28/20/30/tr072816-transcript-of-a-press-briefing-with-william-murray/index.md", "summary": "PRESS OFFICER: Lucie Mboto Fouda", "publishDate": "2016-07-28", "sections": [ { "heading": "Press contact", "content": "- PRESS OFFICER: Lucie Mboto Fouda\n- Phone: +1 202 623-7100\n- Email: MEDIA@IMF.org" }, { "heading": "Overview and logistics", "content": "- Briefing held under embargo until 10:30 a.m. Washington Time, 14:30 GMT.\n- This was one of the regular Biweekly Press Briefings.\n- The IMF Executive Board goes into recess for two weeks each August; this was the last press briefing before that recess.\n- No press briefings will be held until early September during the Board recess.\n- Independent Evaluation Office report on the IMF and the crises in Greece, Ireland, Portugal to be released today at 11:00 a.m. Washington Time; 15:00 GMT. The report and supporting documents are posted in the online Media Briefing Center and are under embargo until 11:00 a.m., 15:00 GMT." }, { "heading": "Gender budgeting study — scope, aims, and data tools", "content": "- Study surveys and assesses gender budgeting efforts in some 80 countries.\n- Gender budgeting defined: “an approach to budgeting that uses fiscal policy and administration to promote gender equality and women's advancement.”\n- Key focus areas by country development level:\n - Low-income countries: education, health care, and vital infrastructure; efforts to equalize growth, school enrolment, provide better maternal care, install time-saving infrastructure to reduce unpaid labor, and address violence against women.\n - Revenue-side: adjustments to the structure of the income tax considered to improve women's labor supply and labor market participation.\n- Data mapper and datasets:\n - Qualitative analysis converted into tabular data for combination with other analytical datasets to explore correlations and causal relationships.\n - Data derived in part from responses to an IMF questionnaire sent to ministries of finance; about one-third of IMF members responded.\n - 23 countries with prominent gender budgeting initiatives are highlighted in dark-blue on the study’s map.\n - Created a unique variation on the UNDP indices, extending those indices backwards in a time-consistent manner for more than 20 years; indices incorporate education, health, and women's economic and political empowerment.\n - Links to working papers and datasets provided at the bottom of the data mapper.\n- Findings on successful gender budgeting initiatives:\n - Most successful efforts had leadership from the Ministry of Finance.\n - Goals were often based on national development strategies tied to the Millennium Development Goals.\n - Establishing a legal basis for gender budgeting and securing support from parliaments and NGOs were important.\n- Related event:\n - IMF is hosting a conference on November 7th on gender equality and fiscal policies; the Managing Director and the U.N. Women's Executive Director, among others, will participate." }, { "heading": "Country highlights and examples from the study", "content": "- Rwanda:\n - Integrated gender-related goals throughout the budget and into its public financial management system.\n - Put in place an effective monitoring system and mechanisms for independent scholarly monitoring.\n - Incorporated gender budgeting into program-based budgeting and public financial management reforms.\n- Austria and Belgium:\n - Notable for incorporation of gender budgeting into basic finance laws." }, { "heading": "IMF engagement and country-specific updates conveyed in the briefing", "content": "- Egypt:\n - Egyptian authorities requested IMF financial support on July 26th.\n - IMF goals: help Egypt return economic stability and support strong, sustainable job-rich growth.\n - IMF mission led by Chris Jarvis, Mission Chief for Egypt, to visit Cairo starting July 30th; visit expected to last about two weeks.\n - The scale of IMF financing will depend on the mission team's assessment of financing needs and the strength of the authorities' reform program; no specific financing numbers provided at time of briefing.\n - Egypt's current quota in the IMF is about 2.08 billion SDRs. IMF lending is based on quota levels.\n - Press references to cited amounts: about $12 billion over three years (as reported by the Finance Minister) and at least $2 billion (as reported by the Finance Ministry); IMF did not confirm specific amounts.\n - Multiple-years financing can be multiples of quota, but no specific program size was announced.\n- Japan:\n - Article IV discussions and Executive Board review ongoing; Article IV staff report expected to be published next Tuesday, August 2nd.\n - IMF staff recommended a comprehensive package of reforms including income policy, labor market reforms, and credible measures for fiscal consolidation over the medium term.\n - In that context, a fiscal stimulus would be welcome to support growth and inflation.\n - On unconventional monetary policy: such measures “have merit, but are riskier” than a comprehensive coordinated package (incomes policy, coordinated fiscal-monetary support, and structural reforms to address labor market duality).\n - Caution flagged: monetized fiscal expansion entails tail risk of severe adverse market reaction through a jump in inflation premiums, could affect global markets given Japan’s large net foreign assets position, and raises the risk of fiscal dominance.\n- Korea:\n - Article IV consultations before the Executive Board tomorrow; Korea Article IV Staff Report to be published “at some point thereafter” (no precise date provided).\n- China:\n - China Article IV was concluded by the Executive Board yesterday; precise publication date for the China Article IV Staff Report not available but expected within the next few weeks.\n- Ukraine:\n - No Executive Board review expected before the August recess.\n - Board review expected sometime after the recess — possibly August or September; no precise Board date available.\n- Zimbabwe:\n - No financing program under discussion at this point.\n - Authorities announced a plan to clear arrears with the IMF and other international financial institutions as part of reengagement.\n - Once arrears are cleared and the IMF Executive Board approves normalization of relations, a financing request could be considered.\n - IMF confirmation: until arrears are paid, IMF financing is not possible. No specific payment plans or evidence of arrears clearance were detailed." }, { "heading": "Announcements and upcoming engagements noted by IMF", "content": "- Management activity:\n - Deputy Managing Director Mitsuhiro Furusawa to be in Jakarta on Monday, August 1st for a seminar jointly organized by the Bank of Indonesia and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; the Indonesian Central Bank is handling media access.\n- Recent and forthcoming publications:\n - Latest Article IV Consultation with Ireland published at 10:00 a.m., 14:00 GMT (same morning as the briefing); Ireland mission team held a briefing earlier that morning.\n - China Article IV concluded by the Executive Board; staff report publication date expected in the next few weeks.\n - Japan Article IV staff report expected next Tuesday, August 2nd.\n - Independent Evaluation Office report on IMF and the crises in Greece, Ireland, Portugal released today at 11:00 a.m. Washington Time; 15:00 GMT — report and supporting documents posted and embargoed until 11:00 a.m., 15:00 GMT.\n\nTranscript of a Press Briefing with William Murray, Deputy Spokesman, IMF Communications Department, July 28, 2016\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- PRESS CENTER\n- https://www.imf.org/en/home\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2016/07/28/20/30/tr072816-transcript-of-a-press-briefing-with-william-murray" } ], "bullets": [ "[Markdown version](/en/news/articles/2016/07/28/20/30/tr072816-transcript-of-a-press-briefing-with-william-murray/index.md)", "[Structured JSON version](/en/news/articles/2016/07/28/20/30/tr072816-transcript-of-a-press-briefing-with-william-murray/index.json)", "[Bundle manifest](/en/news/articles/2016/07/28/20/30/tr072816-transcript-of-a-press-briefing-with-william-murray/bundle-manifest.json)", "Published: July 28, 2016", "PRESS OFFICER: Lucie Mboto Fouda", "Phone: +1 202 623-7100", "Email: MEDIA@IMF.org", "Briefing held under embargo until 10:30 a.m. Washington Time, 14:30 GMT.", "This was one of the regular Biweekly Press Briefings.", "The IMF Executive Board goes into recess for two weeks each August; this was the last press briefing before that recess.", "No press briefings will be held until early September during the Board recess.", "Independent Evaluation Office report on the IMF and the crises in Greece, Ireland, Portugal to be released today at 11:00 a.m. Washington Time; 15:00 GMT. The report and supporting documents are posted in the online Media Briefing Center and are under embargo until 11:00 a.m., 15:00 GMT.", "Study surveys and assesses gender budgeting efforts in some 80 countries.", "Gender budgeting defined: “an approach to budgeting that uses fiscal policy and administration to promote gender equality and women's advancement.”", "Key focus areas by country development level:", "Data mapper and datasets:", "Findings on successful gender budgeting initiatives:", "Related event:", "Rwanda:", "Austria and Belgium:", "Egypt:", "Japan:", "Korea:", "China:", "Ukraine:", "Zimbabwe:", "Management activity:", "Recent and forthcoming publications:", "[PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)", "[https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)" ], "alternates": { "markdown": "/en/news/articles/2016/07/28/20/30/tr072816-transcript-of-a-press-briefing-with-william-murray/index.md", "json": "/en/news/articles/2016/07/28/20/30/tr072816-transcript-of-a-press-briefing-with-william-murray/index.json", "bundleManifest": "/en/news/articles/2016/07/28/20/30/tr072816-transcript-of-a-press-briefing-with-william-murray/bundle-manifest.json" }, "generatedAtUtc": "2026-09-25T20:06:51.357Z" }