Michael Chui and Prasanna Gai
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199267750
- eISBN:
- 9780191602504
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199267758.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
This book offers an analytical perspective on the policy debate on the design and reform of the international financial architecture. It stresses the role played by coordination problems in the ...
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This book offers an analytical perspective on the policy debate on the design and reform of the international financial architecture. It stresses the role played by coordination problems in the origin and management of crises by relating the insights of the new literature on global games to earlier work on currency crises, bank runs, and sovereign debt default. It draws on recent research and policy work to examine the debate on the design of sovereign bankruptcy procedures, the role of the IMF in influencing the actions of creditors and debtors, and the role of private sector involvement in the management of financial crises.Less
This book offers an analytical perspective on the policy debate on the design and reform of the international financial architecture. It stresses the role played by coordination problems in the origin and management of crises by relating the insights of the new literature on global games to earlier work on currency crises, bank runs, and sovereign debt default. It draws on recent research and policy work to examine the debate on the design of sovereign bankruptcy procedures, the role of the IMF in influencing the actions of creditors and debtors, and the role of private sector involvement in the management of financial crises.
Chris Jochnick and Fraser A. Preston (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195168006
- eISBN:
- 9780199783458
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195168003.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
Recent world events have created a compelling need for new perspectives and realistic solutions to the problem of sovereign debt. The success of the Jubilee 2000 movement in raising public awareness ...
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Recent world events have created a compelling need for new perspectives and realistic solutions to the problem of sovereign debt. The success of the Jubilee 2000 movement in raising public awareness of the devastating effects of debt, coupled with the highly publicized Bono/O'Neill tour of Africa, and the spectacular default and economic implosion of Argentina, have helped spur a global debate over debt. A growing chorus of globalization critics, galvanized by the Catholic Church's demand for forgiveness and bolstered by recent defaults, has put debt near the top of the international agenda. Creditor governments and international financial institutions have belatedly recognized the need for more sustainable progress on debt as an inescapable step towards economic recovery in many parts of the world. This book advances the dialogue around these issues by providing an overview of the problems raised by debt and describing new and practical approaches to overcoming them. It brings together the voices of prominent members of the international debt community. It includes pieces from the most relevant constituencies: from creditors (the IMF/World Bank, government lenders, private investors) to critics (debtor representatives, activists, and academics) and analysis from economists, bankers, lawyers, social scientists, and politicians.Less
Recent world events have created a compelling need for new perspectives and realistic solutions to the problem of sovereign debt. The success of the Jubilee 2000 movement in raising public awareness of the devastating effects of debt, coupled with the highly publicized Bono/O'Neill tour of Africa, and the spectacular default and economic implosion of Argentina, have helped spur a global debate over debt. A growing chorus of globalization critics, galvanized by the Catholic Church's demand for forgiveness and bolstered by recent defaults, has put debt near the top of the international agenda. Creditor governments and international financial institutions have belatedly recognized the need for more sustainable progress on debt as an inescapable step towards economic recovery in many parts of the world. This book advances the dialogue around these issues by providing an overview of the problems raised by debt and describing new and practical approaches to overcoming them. It brings together the voices of prominent members of the international debt community. It includes pieces from the most relevant constituencies: from creditors (the IMF/World Bank, government lenders, private investors) to critics (debtor representatives, activists, and academics) and analysis from economists, bankers, lawyers, social scientists, and politicians.
Gavin Mooney
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199235971
- eISBN:
- 9780191717086
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199235971.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Public and Welfare
This book mounts a critique of current health economics and provides a new way of looking at the economics of health and health care. It argues that health economics has been too dominated by the ...
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This book mounts a critique of current health economics and provides a new way of looking at the economics of health and health care. It argues that health economics has been too dominated by the economics of health care and has largely ignored the impact of poverty, inequality, poor housing, and lack of education on health. It is suggested that some of the structural issues of economies, particularly the individualism of neo liberalism which is becoming more and more pervasive across the globe, need to be addressed in health economics. The book instead proposes a form of collective decision making through communitarianism, placing value on participation in public life and on institutions, such as health care. It is envisaged this form of decision making can be used at the local, national, or global levels. For the last, this would mean a major revamp of global institutions like the World Bank and the IMF. Examples of the impact of the new paradigm on health policy in general but also more specifically on priority setting and equity are included.Less
This book mounts a critique of current health economics and provides a new way of looking at the economics of health and health care. It argues that health economics has been too dominated by the economics of health care and has largely ignored the impact of poverty, inequality, poor housing, and lack of education on health. It is suggested that some of the structural issues of economies, particularly the individualism of neo liberalism which is becoming more and more pervasive across the globe, need to be addressed in health economics. The book instead proposes a form of collective decision making through communitarianism, placing value on participation in public life and on institutions, such as health care. It is envisaged this form of decision making can be used at the local, national, or global levels. For the last, this would mean a major revamp of global institutions like the World Bank and the IMF. Examples of the impact of the new paradigm on health policy in general but also more specifically on priority setting and equity are included.
Jack Boorman
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195168006
- eISBN:
- 9780199783458
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195168003.003.0012
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter discusses ideas for resolving debt crises. It argues that a narrow focus on debt relief in HIPCs is insufficient and that the activist community and lenders must look to finding broader ...
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This chapter discusses ideas for resolving debt crises. It argues that a narrow focus on debt relief in HIPCs is insufficient and that the activist community and lenders must look to finding broader measures of foreign aid and creating a fair trading environment. In the end, finding the “right” level of debt relief is impossible and ignores the more important aim of delivering a better life to impoverished people. Support is given to a proposal floated by the IMF for a sovereign debt restructuring mechanism (SDRM) to resolve pending debt crises in developing countries.Less
This chapter discusses ideas for resolving debt crises. It argues that a narrow focus on debt relief in HIPCs is insufficient and that the activist community and lenders must look to finding broader measures of foreign aid and creating a fair trading environment. In the end, finding the “right” level of debt relief is impossible and ignores the more important aim of delivering a better life to impoverished people. Support is given to a proposal floated by the IMF for a sovereign debt restructuring mechanism (SDRM) to resolve pending debt crises in developing countries.
Kunibert Raffer
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195168006
- eISBN:
- 9780199783458
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195168003.003.0013
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter argues that that the IMF's sovereign debt restructuring mechanism (SDRM) is misguided in several ways. Most importantly, the SDRM proposal leaves the IMF itself in the position of having ...
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This chapter argues that that the IMF's sovereign debt restructuring mechanism (SDRM) is misguided in several ways. Most importantly, the SDRM proposal leaves the IMF itself in the position of having to make two crucial decisions: whether to endorse a stay of payments to creditors, and what amount of debt is “sustainable”, i.e., how much debt should be written off. This decision-making capacity creates a conflict of interest, as the IMF itself is almost always a creditor to countries experiencing debt crises. As an alternative to the IMF's SDRM, a mechanism modeled on Chapter 9 of the US bankruptcy code is proposed, which applies to municipalities and resolves some of the knotty problems of dealing with public (as compared with private) insolvency. This approach would rely on ad hoc panels formed by the debtor and creditor committees and therefore would not require that the IMF serve as arbitrator.Less
This chapter argues that that the IMF's sovereign debt restructuring mechanism (SDRM) is misguided in several ways. Most importantly, the SDRM proposal leaves the IMF itself in the position of having to make two crucial decisions: whether to endorse a stay of payments to creditors, and what amount of debt is “sustainable”, i.e., how much debt should be written off. This decision-making capacity creates a conflict of interest, as the IMF itself is almost always a creditor to countries experiencing debt crises. As an alternative to the IMF's SDRM, a mechanism modeled on Chapter 9 of the US bankruptcy code is proposed, which applies to municipalities and resolves some of the knotty problems of dealing with public (as compared with private) insolvency. This approach would rely on ad hoc panels formed by the debtor and creditor committees and therefore would not require that the IMF serve as arbitrator.
David Roodman
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- May 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780195168006
- eISBN:
- 9780199783458
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195168003.003.0002
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter presents an overview of the sovereign-debt initiatives from the last twenty-five years. It examines the programs devised by creditors, namely the World Bank and IMF, during the 1980s and ...
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This chapter presents an overview of the sovereign-debt initiatives from the last twenty-five years. It examines the programs devised by creditors, namely the World Bank and IMF, during the 1980s and 1990s, that aimed at addressing the mounting problem of developing-country debt. The “austerity” lending of the 1980s and the structural adjustment programs of the 1990s are discussed, and the inherent failings that characterized those efforts, including reduced public investment which has led to economic stagnation, are criticized.Less
This chapter presents an overview of the sovereign-debt initiatives from the last twenty-five years. It examines the programs devised by creditors, namely the World Bank and IMF, during the 1980s and 1990s, that aimed at addressing the mounting problem of developing-country debt. The “austerity” lending of the 1980s and the structural adjustment programs of the 1990s are discussed, and the inherent failings that characterized those efforts, including reduced public investment which has led to economic stagnation, are criticized.
Ngaire Woods
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199261437
- eISBN:
- 9780191599309
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199261431.003.0005
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Examines the role of the US in international financial institutions with particular reference to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Describes the extraordinary influence of the ...
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Examines the role of the US in international financial institutions with particular reference to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Describes the extraordinary influence of the US on these institutions as a function of both formal means (e.g., US financial contributions) and informal practices and conventions that have developed over time, with the informal mechanisms of influence often being more important than the formal ones. However, it is also argued that, notwithstanding the weight of US influence, it would be inaccurate to consider the World Bank and the IMF as mere instruments of US power and policy, and that their remaining credibility and legitimacy rest in part on their ability to create some political distance between themselves and their most powerful state patron. US domestic political conditions are also important. Within the country, the division of authority between Executive and Congress sometimes enhances and at other times constrains US influence; the effective exercise of US power also requires interlocutors in host governments who share the technical mind‐set and ideological predispositions of the US and international financial institutions. The different sections of the chapter: analyse the formal and informal structures of power in the World Bank and IMF; look at the US in relation to the financing, lending decisions, staffing and management of these institutions; and discuss formal power structures and informal exercises of influence.Less
Examines the role of the US in international financial institutions with particular reference to the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Describes the extraordinary influence of the US on these institutions as a function of both formal means (e.g., US financial contributions) and informal practices and conventions that have developed over time, with the informal mechanisms of influence often being more important than the formal ones. However, it is also argued that, notwithstanding the weight of US influence, it would be inaccurate to consider the World Bank and the IMF as mere instruments of US power and policy, and that their remaining credibility and legitimacy rest in part on their ability to create some political distance between themselves and their most powerful state patron. US domestic political conditions are also important. Within the country, the division of authority between Executive and Congress sometimes enhances and at other times constrains US influence; the effective exercise of US power also requires interlocutors in host governments who share the technical mind‐set and ideological predispositions of the US and international financial institutions. The different sections of the chapter: analyse the formal and informal structures of power in the World Bank and IMF; look at the US in relation to the financing, lending decisions, staffing and management of these institutions; and discuss formal power structures and informal exercises of influence.
Susan Senior Nello
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199244096
- eISBN:
- 9780191600371
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/019924409X.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, Democratization
Examines the external economic influences that have affected democratic consolidation. The analysis concentrates on the role played by external economic actors, taking as a case study the IMF and a ...
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Examines the external economic influences that have affected democratic consolidation. The analysis concentrates on the role played by external economic actors, taking as a case study the IMF and a comparison of its role with that of the EU. The first section considers the IMF provision of financial and technical assistance to facilitate the political and economic transition process. It also examines the role of the IMF in providing policy advice and acting as a catalyst to obtain financial support from other resources. The second section describes the activities of the IMF in transition countries. The third discusses links between a market‐oriented economy and democratization at a general level, while the fourth indicates how tensions may arise between the two in specific cases of post‐communist transition. The fifth section discusses IMF conditionality as applied to the transition countries with regard to the needs, objectives, and characteristics of the country itself, its ability to bargain with the international organization in question, and the international economic and political environment. The sixth section assesses how appropriate the policy descriptions of the IMF were for the economies in transition and what kind of positive and negative lessons might be drawn from applying conditionality. Lastly, the chapter discusses the implications in this context of proposals for IMF reform.Less
Examines the external economic influences that have affected democratic consolidation. The analysis concentrates on the role played by external economic actors, taking as a case study the IMF and a comparison of its role with that of the EU. The first section considers the IMF provision of financial and technical assistance to facilitate the political and economic transition process. It also examines the role of the IMF in providing policy advice and acting as a catalyst to obtain financial support from other resources. The second section describes the activities of the IMF in transition countries. The third discusses links between a market‐oriented economy and democratization at a general level, while the fourth indicates how tensions may arise between the two in specific cases of post‐communist transition. The fifth section discusses IMF conditionality as applied to the transition countries with regard to the needs, objectives, and characteristics of the country itself, its ability to bargain with the international organization in question, and the international economic and political environment. The sixth section assesses how appropriate the policy descriptions of the IMF were for the economies in transition and what kind of positive and negative lessons might be drawn from applying conditionality. Lastly, the chapter discusses the implications in this context of proposals for IMF reform.
Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780195144260
- eISBN:
- 9780199833931
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195144260.003.0008
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Why did only Malaysia and Pakistan adopt state‐led Islamization as a strategy for expansion of state power? How did this strategy serve their interests? What was the impact of this strategy on these ...
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Why did only Malaysia and Pakistan adopt state‐led Islamization as a strategy for expansion of state power? How did this strategy serve their interests? What was the impact of this strategy on these countries and their societies? In the end, Islamization did serve state interests, but at the cost of laws and procedures that were neither viable in the long run nor were they socially beneficial. Furthermore, Islamization strategy ultimately proved untenable as interests of the state and those of Islamist actors began to diverge, especially with the onset of the Asian Financial Crisis, and implementation of IMF reforms.Less
Why did only Malaysia and Pakistan adopt state‐led Islamization as a strategy for expansion of state power? How did this strategy serve their interests? What was the impact of this strategy on these countries and their societies? In the end, Islamization did serve state interests, but at the cost of laws and procedures that were neither viable in the long run nor were they socially beneficial. Furthermore, Islamization strategy ultimately proved untenable as interests of the state and those of Islamist actors began to diverge, especially with the onset of the Asian Financial Crisis, and implementation of IMF reforms.
Ngaire Woods
- Published in print:
- 2003
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780199251209
- eISBN:
- 9780191599293
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199251207.003.0004
- Subject:
- Political Science, International Relations and Politics
Woods's chapter focuses primarily on procedural justice within the international financial institutions. She argues that the procedures adopted by these institutions are central to the debate about ...
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Woods's chapter focuses primarily on procedural justice within the international financial institutions. She argues that the procedures adopted by these institutions are central to the debate about global economic justice, and thus it is essential to explore how these bodies make decisions and implement them. Her conclusions suggest that, notwithstanding recent and important reforms, the institutions still suffer from weaknesses in representation and accountability. Unless these bodies attend to these deficiencies, the range and scope of their activities should be circumscribed.Less
Woods's chapter focuses primarily on procedural justice within the international financial institutions. She argues that the procedures adopted by these institutions are central to the debate about global economic justice, and thus it is essential to explore how these bodies make decisions and implement them. Her conclusions suggest that, notwithstanding recent and important reforms, the institutions still suffer from weaknesses in representation and accountability. Unless these bodies attend to these deficiencies, the range and scope of their activities should be circumscribed.
James M. Boughton and Domenico Lombardi (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199239863
- eISBN:
- 9780191716805
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199239863.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This book provides an assessment of the role of the International Monetary Fund in poor countries. In recent years, a large portion of the work of the IMF has focused on the economies of low-income ...
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This book provides an assessment of the role of the International Monetary Fund in poor countries. In recent years, a large portion of the work of the IMF has focused on the economies of low-income countries by aiming to create conditions conducive to poverty reduction and stable economic growth. More than two fifths of the IMF's 185 members are low-income countries and many others have substantial pockets of poverty in their populations. Since economic development and the reduction of poverty are the most important economic challenges that these countries face, how can the IMF best help them? How can the imperative of macroeconomic and financial stability be reconciled with the requirements for sustained economic growth? This book brings together the research of leading economists, political scientists, and historians to suggest ways for the IMF to address these issues effectively.Less
This book provides an assessment of the role of the International Monetary Fund in poor countries. In recent years, a large portion of the work of the IMF has focused on the economies of low-income countries by aiming to create conditions conducive to poverty reduction and stable economic growth. More than two fifths of the IMF's 185 members are low-income countries and many others have substantial pockets of poverty in their populations. Since economic development and the reduction of poverty are the most important economic challenges that these countries face, how can the IMF best help them? How can the imperative of macroeconomic and financial stability be reconciled with the requirements for sustained economic growth? This book brings together the research of leading economists, political scientists, and historians to suggest ways for the IMF to address these issues effectively.
A. B. Atkinson (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199278558
- eISBN:
- 9780191601590
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199278555.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental
As their Millennium Development Goals, world leaders have pledged by 2015 to halve the number of people living in extreme poverty and hunger, to achieve universal primary education, to reduce child ...
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As their Millennium Development Goals, world leaders have pledged by 2015 to halve the number of people living in extreme poverty and hunger, to achieve universal primary education, to reduce child mortality, to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS, and to halve the number of people without safe drinking water. Achieving these goals requires a large increase in the flow of financial resources to developing countries – double the present development assistance from abroad. In examining innovative ways to secure these resources, this book, which is part of the UNU–WIDER Studies in Development Economics series, sets out a framework for the economic analysis of different sources of funding and applying the tools of modern public economics to identify the key issues. It examines the role of new sources of overseas aid, considers the fiscal architecture and the lessons that can be learned from federal fiscal systems, asks how far increased transfers impose a burden on donors, and investigates how far the raising of resources can be separated from their use. In turn, the book examines global environmental taxes (such as a carbon tax), the taxation of currency transactions (the Tobin tax), a development‐focused allocation of Special Drawing Rights by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the UK Government proposal for an International Finance Facility, increased private donations for development purposes, a global lottery (or premium bond), and increased remittances by emigrants. In each case, it considers the feasibility of the proposal and the resources that it can realistically raise, and offers new perspectives and insights into these new and controversial proposals.Less
As their Millennium Development Goals, world leaders have pledged by 2015 to halve the number of people living in extreme poverty and hunger, to achieve universal primary education, to reduce child mortality, to halt the spread of HIV/AIDS, and to halve the number of people without safe drinking water. Achieving these goals requires a large increase in the flow of financial resources to developing countries – double the present development assistance from abroad. In examining innovative ways to secure these resources, this book, which is part of the UNU–WIDER Studies in Development Economics series, sets out a framework for the economic analysis of different sources of funding and applying the tools of modern public economics to identify the key issues. It examines the role of new sources of overseas aid, considers the fiscal architecture and the lessons that can be learned from federal fiscal systems, asks how far increased transfers impose a burden on donors, and investigates how far the raising of resources can be separated from their use. In turn, the book examines global environmental taxes (such as a carbon tax), the taxation of currency transactions (the Tobin tax), a development‐focused allocation of Special Drawing Rights by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the UK Government proposal for an International Finance Facility, increased private donations for development purposes, a global lottery (or premium bond), and increased remittances by emigrants. In each case, it considers the feasibility of the proposal and the resources that it can realistically raise, and offers new perspectives and insights into these new and controversial proposals.
Yung Chul Park
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- February 2006
- ISBN:
- 9780199276776
- eISBN:
- 9780191603051
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199276773.003.0009
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, South and East Asia
The IMF reform programs for the crisis countries did not have a well-defined roadmap to guide the formulation and implementation of stabilization policies, financial and corporate restructuring, and ...
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The IMF reform programs for the crisis countries did not have a well-defined roadmap to guide the formulation and implementation of stabilization policies, financial and corporate restructuring, and institutional reforms. The most important reason for this ineffectiveness was the IMF’s failure to recognize the crisis as a capital account crisis. This led to a wrong diagnosis, thus a wrong prescription.Less
The IMF reform programs for the crisis countries did not have a well-defined roadmap to guide the formulation and implementation of stabilization policies, financial and corporate restructuring, and institutional reforms. The most important reason for this ineffectiveness was the IMF’s failure to recognize the crisis as a capital account crisis. This led to a wrong diagnosis, thus a wrong prescription.
Douglas Wass
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780199534746
- eISBN:
- 9780191715884
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199534746.001.0001
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Economic History
This book gives an account of a crucially important episode in the post-War political history of the UK — the financial crisis of 1976 when the British Government had to seek large credit from the ...
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This book gives an account of a crucially important episode in the post-War political history of the UK — the financial crisis of 1976 when the British Government had to seek large credit from the International Monetary Fund. The author of this book takes advantage of the privileged position he occupied at the relevant time as official head of the Treasury and of his knowledge of the business of policy formation to trace the antecedents of the crisis, and takes the reader through the complex process of economic and political analysis. The book shows how that analysis came to play such an important part in the negotiations which led to the IMF loan. It looks at both the technical and political aspects of the crisis. In its concluding section, he examines whether the political and administrative apparatus was equal to the tasks it had to tackle. The book raises some hitherto unasked questions about the inevitability of the crisis and about the measures taken to resolve it. In so doing, it aims to rekindle interest in the way the British economy was managed in the four decades following the Second World War and poses the question of whether the events described could occur in the world of today.Less
This book gives an account of a crucially important episode in the post-War political history of the UK — the financial crisis of 1976 when the British Government had to seek large credit from the International Monetary Fund. The author of this book takes advantage of the privileged position he occupied at the relevant time as official head of the Treasury and of his knowledge of the business of policy formation to trace the antecedents of the crisis, and takes the reader through the complex process of economic and political analysis. The book shows how that analysis came to play such an important part in the negotiations which led to the IMF loan. It looks at both the technical and political aspects of the crisis. In its concluding section, he examines whether the political and administrative apparatus was equal to the tasks it had to tackle. The book raises some hitherto unasked questions about the inevitability of the crisis and about the measures taken to resolve it. In so doing, it aims to rekindle interest in the way the British economy was managed in the four decades following the Second World War and poses the question of whether the events described could occur in the world of today.
Dermot Hodson
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199572502
- eISBN:
- 9780191728860
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199572502.003.0006
- Subject:
- Political Science, Political Economy, European Union
This chapter revisits claims about the euro area’s fragmented system of external relations in the light of the global financial crisis. In the case of the G20, it finds that European Union member ...
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This chapter revisits claims about the euro area’s fragmented system of external relations in the light of the global financial crisis. In the case of the G20, it finds that European Union member states were at the forefront of efforts to forge an international consensus on policy responses to the crisis. In the case of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it finds that European Union member states exercised considerable collective influence within the Fund when it came to the provision of financial support for Hungary, Latvia, and Romania. The European Union did procrastinate when it came to seeking financial assistance for Greece, but this delay was rooted in deep-seated differences between European Union member states rather than a lack of coordination between European representatives to the IMF.Less
This chapter revisits claims about the euro area’s fragmented system of external relations in the light of the global financial crisis. In the case of the G20, it finds that European Union member states were at the forefront of efforts to forge an international consensus on policy responses to the crisis. In the case of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), it finds that European Union member states exercised considerable collective influence within the Fund when it came to the provision of financial support for Hungary, Latvia, and Romania. The European Union did procrastinate when it came to seeking financial assistance for Greece, but this delay was rooted in deep-seated differences between European Union member states rather than a lack of coordination between European representatives to the IMF.
Paul Mosley
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199692125
- eISBN:
- 9780191739286
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199692125.003.0007
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental, Macro- and Monetary Economics
Especially in poorer countries and regions, international financial institutions (multilateral, bilateral, and increasingly international NGOs) have been important in financing the implementation of ...
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Especially in poorer countries and regions, international financial institutions (multilateral, bilateral, and increasingly international NGOs) have been important in financing the implementation of the pro-poor ideas, policies, and structures described in previous chapters. They have attempted to make their aid more effective – and since the 1990s more pro-poor – by attaching policy conditions to their aid, which is achieved through a combination of liberalization, good governance, and commitment to poverty reduction. This idea forms the basis of the Washington institutions’ Poverty Reduction Strategy documents. However, as this chapter shows, what really matters in practice is not adherence to formal conditionality but trust between international financial institutions and recipients; and this is determined more by personal relationships than by technical performance criteria. In spite of this personalization of the aid relationship, this chapter finds that aid does influence policy (for example, the level of the PPE and PPI indices developed in Chapters 5 and 6) and thereby, in the poorer countries, plays a significant part in reducing poverty. Indonesia, Ghana, Uganda, and Bolivia, and outside the study’s sample also Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and India, would have had totally different poverty trajectories in the absence of support from the international financial institutions.Less
Especially in poorer countries and regions, international financial institutions (multilateral, bilateral, and increasingly international NGOs) have been important in financing the implementation of the pro-poor ideas, policies, and structures described in previous chapters. They have attempted to make their aid more effective – and since the 1990s more pro-poor – by attaching policy conditions to their aid, which is achieved through a combination of liberalization, good governance, and commitment to poverty reduction. This idea forms the basis of the Washington institutions’ Poverty Reduction Strategy documents. However, as this chapter shows, what really matters in practice is not adherence to formal conditionality but trust between international financial institutions and recipients; and this is determined more by personal relationships than by technical performance criteria. In spite of this personalization of the aid relationship, this chapter finds that aid does influence policy (for example, the level of the PPE and PPI indices developed in Chapters 5 and 6) and thereby, in the poorer countries, plays a significant part in reducing poverty. Indonesia, Ghana, Uganda, and Bolivia, and outside the study’s sample also Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and India, would have had totally different poverty trajectories in the absence of support from the international financial institutions.
Jean Grugel and Pia Riggirozzi
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199692125
- eISBN:
- 9780191739286
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199692125.003.0009
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Development, Growth, and Environmental, Macro- and Monetary Economics
Amongst the several cases reported in this volume of an elite rocked by a crisis, looking to poor groups for support and thereby shifting policy in a pro-poor direction, Argentina is one of the most ...
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Amongst the several cases reported in this volume of an elite rocked by a crisis, looking to poor groups for support and thereby shifting policy in a pro-poor direction, Argentina is one of the most dramatic. The crisis arose from the collapse of an exchange rate peg under the stress of fiscal and institutional weaknesses which the IMF had indulged rather than being able to correct. In the consequent economic crisis many middle-class as well as working class people lost their jobs and their livelihoods, and thereby became radicalized, operating as piqueteros, or radical protesters, demanding that government policy alter its stance and in particular reject the neoliberal ‘Washington consensus’. Under the Duhalde and the two Kirchner administrations after 2002, this move away from a neoliberal and towards an activist state gradually occurred, involving both the cooptation of the piqueteros into government and the adoption of a heterodox policy framework, known in Argentina as neodesarrollismo (neodevelopmentalism)., a mixture of 1950s-style import-substituting industrialization with new-style fiscal austerity and innovative new policy instruments, such as export taxes linked to social protection expenditures. The Mesa de Dialogo, a new discussion forum established to conciliate the differences of interest groups affected by the crisis, was also important in facilitating the transition to the new policy regime.These new instruments have helped to give teeth to the left-of-centre strategies which have gained ground inside and outside Latin America in recent years.Less
Amongst the several cases reported in this volume of an elite rocked by a crisis, looking to poor groups for support and thereby shifting policy in a pro-poor direction, Argentina is one of the most dramatic. The crisis arose from the collapse of an exchange rate peg under the stress of fiscal and institutional weaknesses which the IMF had indulged rather than being able to correct. In the consequent economic crisis many middle-class as well as working class people lost their jobs and their livelihoods, and thereby became radicalized, operating as piqueteros, or radical protesters, demanding that government policy alter its stance and in particular reject the neoliberal ‘Washington consensus’. Under the Duhalde and the two Kirchner administrations after 2002, this move away from a neoliberal and towards an activist state gradually occurred, involving both the cooptation of the piqueteros into government and the adoption of a heterodox policy framework, known in Argentina as neodesarrollismo (neodevelopmentalism)., a mixture of 1950s-style import-substituting industrialization with new-style fiscal austerity and innovative new policy instruments, such as export taxes linked to social protection expenditures. The Mesa de Dialogo, a new discussion forum established to conciliate the differences of interest groups affected by the crisis, was also important in facilitating the transition to the new policy regime.These new instruments have helped to give teeth to the left-of-centre strategies which have gained ground inside and outside Latin America in recent years.
Bessma Momani
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199239863
- eISBN:
- 9780191716805
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199239863.003.0013
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter surveys recent IMF reform proposals emanating from academia, policy networks, think-tanks, member states, and even within the IMF. It argues that these IMF reform proposals are overly ...
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This chapter surveys recent IMF reform proposals emanating from academia, policy networks, think-tanks, member states, and even within the IMF. It argues that these IMF reform proposals are overly focused on governance reforms and do not adequately cover substantive policy changes. Low income countries would better gain from IMF reforms that addressed substantive policy issues; issues that debtors had long pursued about the efficacy, application, and fundamentals of Fund advice. These functional reform issues have been sidelined in current Fund reform proposals because the debate has been dominated by state officials, primarily from the emerging market economies, who are concerned with increasing their relative power in IMF decision-making. The chapter suggests internal IMF reforms, organizational and bureaucratic changes, that will help meet the needs of LICs.Less
This chapter surveys recent IMF reform proposals emanating from academia, policy networks, think-tanks, member states, and even within the IMF. It argues that these IMF reform proposals are overly focused on governance reforms and do not adequately cover substantive policy changes. Low income countries would better gain from IMF reforms that addressed substantive policy issues; issues that debtors had long pursued about the efficacy, application, and fundamentals of Fund advice. These functional reform issues have been sidelined in current Fund reform proposals because the debate has been dominated by state officials, primarily from the emerging market economies, who are concerned with increasing their relative power in IMF decision-making. The chapter suggests internal IMF reforms, organizational and bureaucratic changes, that will help meet the needs of LICs.
Abbas Mirakhor and Iqbal Zaidi
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199239863
- eISBN:
- 9780191716805
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199239863.003.0014
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics, Development, Growth, and Environmental
This chapter attempts to set out the principal issues that need to be resolved in formulating a proposal for quotas and voice reform in the IMF that could command broad support. Following John Rawls, ...
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This chapter attempts to set out the principal issues that need to be resolved in formulating a proposal for quotas and voice reform in the IMF that could command broad support. Following John Rawls, it argues that ‘justice is the first virtue of social institutions’, and uses his theory of justice to provide a method for understanding what should be the case, in the context of voice and voting shares, before international institutions, such as the IMF, are to be justifiable to their members. The implementation of this process suggests, among other things, that a major revision of the quota formulas is long overdue, and leaving this unaddressed raises serious questions regarding the IMF's governance which could develop into a core mission risk and jeopardize the relevance of the institution.Less
This chapter attempts to set out the principal issues that need to be resolved in formulating a proposal for quotas and voice reform in the IMF that could command broad support. Following John Rawls, it argues that ‘justice is the first virtue of social institutions’, and uses his theory of justice to provide a method for understanding what should be the case, in the context of voice and voting shares, before international institutions, such as the IMF, are to be justifiable to their members. The implementation of this process suggests, among other things, that a major revision of the quota formulas is long overdue, and leaving this unaddressed raises serious questions regarding the IMF's governance which could develop into a core mission risk and jeopardize the relevance of the institution.
Michael Chui and Prasanna Gai
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780199267750
- eISBN:
- 9780191602504
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0199267758.003.0010
- Subject:
- Economics and Finance, Financial Economics
Explores the circumstances under which the imposition of statutory debt restructuring mechanisms and/or debt standstills can trigger a ‘rush for the exits’ by creditors. Given the possibility of such ...
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Explores the circumstances under which the imposition of statutory debt restructuring mechanisms and/or debt standstills can trigger a ‘rush for the exits’ by creditors. Given the possibility of such creditor pre-emption, it also examines how the IMF and the official sector can galvanize private sector involvement by providing ‘catalytic finance’. Concludes with an empirical assessment of the extent of debtor moral hazard—the main reason cited against the adoption of a statutory approach to crisis management.Less
Explores the circumstances under which the imposition of statutory debt restructuring mechanisms and/or debt standstills can trigger a ‘rush for the exits’ by creditors. Given the possibility of such creditor pre-emption, it also examines how the IMF and the official sector can galvanize private sector involvement by providing ‘catalytic finance’. Concludes with an empirical assessment of the extent of debtor moral hazard—the main reason cited against the adoption of a statutory approach to crisis management.
