Recent
Developments in IMF-CSO
Relations
The work of international
institutions with civil
society organizations (CSOs)
often seems to focus on
nongovernmental organizations.
Indeed, the Fund staff who
interact with CSOs—the country
teams, the policy researchers,
and external relations
staff—devote considerable time
to the essential exchange of
views with NGOs. But other
interlocutors are also
important: elected
representatives, religious
organizations, and labor
unions. This issue of the
Civil Society Newsletter
focuses on some of our ongoing
activities with two of these
groups. We offer an
overview
of a recently released IMF
Executive Board
study of the Fund's
growing outreach to
parliamentarians. In addition,
we offer an
article
on our continuing dialogue
with the World Council of
Churches; an
article on the first such
meeting was published in the
April 2003 issue of the Civil
Society Newsletter.
We would also like to draw
your attention to a new source
of information on IMF
perspectives on policies and
country programs. In January,
we posted on the Fund's
external website (www.imf.org)
a new feature called
Questions in the News that
provides the Fund response to
questions raised by
journalists and others about
IMF policies and operations.
At present, most of the
material is drawn from press
conferences, and, to broaden
its coverage, readers of the
Civil Society Newsletter are
encouraged to send questions
to
inthenews@imf.org.
As always, we welcome your
comments and questions about
the Newsletter. It is
intended not just to offer the
Fund's perspective on issues
of interest to civil society,
but to provide balance of
views by presenting the
criticisms we face in our
outreach—to which we are
attempting to respond
constructively.
Back to
Table of Contents
Feature
Article:
Enhancing IMF
Parliamentary Outreach
In an effort to enhance its
dialogue with legislators, the
IMF is inviting public comment
on the
report of the Working Group of
IMF Executive Directors on
Enhancing Communication with
National Legislators.
The Working Group was set
up in May 2003 to examine how
the IMF could enhance its
dialogue with legislators. The
report summarizes the Fund's
past outreach to legislators,
and the discussions and
recommendations by the Working
Group on future outreach.
The Working Group report
stresses that IMF outreach
should be a two-way dialogue
and that it is important for
the Fund to listen to
legislators. Such dialogue is
important to the Fund
particularly because
legislators in most countries
have the constitutional
responsibility to oversee
national budgets and approve
legislation on economic
reforms. It provides the IMF
with an opportunity to listen
to the concerns of
legislators—and thus the
citizens they represent—and to
improve the Fund's
understanding of the political
and social context in which
economic policy decisions are
taken. The Working Group,
therefore, encouraged
Executive Directors and staff
to continue their outreach
efforts.
The Working Group agreed
that greater interaction
between legislators and the
Fund would be particularly
beneficial to the IMF because
it would help build
understanding of economic
reforms and IMF programs. It
could also provide a useful
avenue for informing and
receiving comments from
legislators about the work of
the Fund and its role in the
international financial system
in general.
The Working Group's report
invites comments on its
recommendations to learn how
the IMF can enhance its
dialogue with legislators. The
comments will be reviewed and
will provide input via a
weblink for the IMF's evolving
outreach to national
legislators.
IMF's Outreach to
Legislators
The IMF's dialogue with
national legislators, which
has expanded in recent years,
takes a number of forms:
- IMF management,
Executive Directors, and
staff meet with legislators
on their visits to member
countries and when
legislators visit
Washington.
- At seminars in Zambia,
Indonesia, Kenya, Cameroon,
Ghana, and Southeast Asia,
IMF staff and legislators
have discussed the country's
poverty reduction
strategies, IMF-supported
programs, and the role and
activities of the IMF.
- Training has been
provided at the IMF's Joint
Vienna Institute for
legislators from the
transition economies of
central and eastern Europe,
since 1995.
- The IMF has participated
in the annual conferences,
field visits, and regional
East Africa chapter of the
Parliamentary Network on the
World Bank. At the network's
2003 annual conference, IMF
Managing Director Horst
Köhler engaged in an
hour-long Q&A session with
legislators (see
IMF Survey, March
31, 2003)
- IMF staff have attended
conferences and meetings of
the Inter-Parliamentary
Union , collaborated with
the Global Organization of
Parliamentarians Against
Corruption, and organized
meetings for legislators in
Washington with the Canadian
Parliamentary Center.
Back to
Table of Contents
Civil
Society-IMF Dialogue:
Continued dialogue
with the World Council of
Churches
World Council of Churches
(WCC) representatives
visited Washington last
October for the second meeting
with IMF and World Bank staff
in the past year. The
encounter was part of a
dialogue that was launched in
Geneva in February 2003 (see
Civil Society Newsletter,
April 2003) and aimed at
finding common ground on
crucial global issues. It also
is aimed at clearing the way
for a high-level meeting,
tentatively planned for later
this year. The gathering
covered four topics that
emerged from the Geneva
discussion: institutional
governance and accountability;
participation of civil society
in development; the respective
roles of the public and
private sectors in poverty
reduction; and the challenges
of globalization.
The meeting provided an
opportunity to exchange views.
Although some of the
discussion was contentious, it
also revealed considerable
common ground among the three
institutions, particularly on
the objectives of policy. WCC
team members voiced their
perception that the World Bank
and IMF are strongly
influenced by the "neo-liberal
paradigm" and dominated by
major shareholders. Voting
power should be reallocated,
they said, to ensure that the
institutions represent the
interests of the whole
membership. IMF staff
responded that both
institutions reflect much
greater diversity and
pragmatism than this
perception suggests.
Moreover, both institutions
serve a universal membership
with a sophisticated system of
consensus and
coalition-building in which
developing countries are able
to influence policies and loan
decisions regardless of their
formal voting rights.
The WCC also argued that
the Bretton Woods Institutions
(BWIs) do not pay adequate
attention to the economic and
social consequences of their
policy advice in poor member
countries and questioned how
seriously the institutions
view the agenda regarding the
participation and engagement
of civil society in the
development process. Bank and
Fund staff said that the
Poverty Reduction Strategy
Paper (PRSP) process, which is
central to the BWIs'
involvement in low-income
countries, involves
substantial participation by
civil society and aims to
directly address these
concerns about engagement. WCC
staff suggested that the PRSPs
could help promote democratic
practices in countries.
The greatest headway in
dialogue and understanding
appeared to be achieved during
the debate over the roles of
the public and private
sectors. The WCC speakers said
that the BWIs too often
advocate privatization and
market mechanisms without
adequate consideration of
justice, equity, and the
welfare of the poor. But there
was broad agreement among the
three organizations that
social services are a basic
human right and therefore a
responsibility of the state.
There was disagreement,
however, over how these
services should be provided,
with World Bank and IMF staff
urging an appropriate balance
between public and private
sectors to ensure the
effective delivery of better
services.
WCC, IMF and World Bank
staff agreed that economic
globalization has not
benefited all people equally
and has produced both winners
and losers. IMF staff said
that particularly in the
opening of financial markets
countries should take a
gradual approach, and that
policies were needed to help
those who "lose out". WCC
staff questioned links between
poverty reduction, economic
growth, and trade expansion.
They argued for giving greater
prominence to human rights
issues in trade, as well as
for a more disaggregated
approach that would highlight
the negative impact of trade
expansion on specific
countries and groups of
people.
At the end of the two-day
meeting, the three delegations
agreed to focus at the next
meeting (planned for May 2004)
on PRSP case studies and on
planning issues for the high
level meeting, tentatively
planned for late 2004.
Back to
Table of Contents
The IMF at the
European Social Forum
Klaus Enders, Assistant
Director of the IMF Offices in
Europe, participated in a
seminar and a televised debate
organized by the
Bridge Initiative on
Globalization on the
margins of the
European Social Forum (ESF),
which took place November
12-15 in Paris.
It was the third time that
IMF staff have participated in
a dialogue moderated by the
Bridge Initiative, an effort
initiated in 2000 by
independent media producers in
Europe and North America to
help stakeholders with
conflicting perspectives on
globalization issues find
agreement on substantive
changes in policy that make
the process more equitable.
The group has hosted a series
of seminars and televised
debates between well-known
CSO, business, and IFI
leaders.
The Bridge seminar on
November 11 and 12 discussed
the future of multilateralism
and the global effort to
reduce poverty. Participants
included representatives from
a range of NGOs, French
government officials, and
representative from the UN,
World Bank, OECD and the EU.
Given the broad nature of the
issues, the meeting was
largely confined to broad
statements and did not
identify concrete actions, as
the organizers had hoped to
do. Most of the NGOs focused
on proposals for radically
changing the present "system"
as opposed to ideas for
incremental reform. Many
rejected IMF-supported
policies and saw no change in
what they described as the
Fund's failed dogma of
"neo-liberal" economic
development policies.
Despite the fundamental
differences, the discussions
were cordial and well
coordinated. There was
recognition that mankind faces
urgent threats, such as
poverty, and that meetings
like those organized by the
Bridge Initiative were useful
to allow each side to take a
look at issues from a less
familiar perspective. As one
civil society participant put
it, "it is quite useful to
spend up to ten percent of
one's time talking to the
other side."
The public debate on
November 13 was organized as
part of the ESF's "tables of
controversy," the first time
that the IMF was invited to
the gathering. In addition to
Enders, the panel consisted of
Susan George (ATTAC), Jose
Bove (French farmer and
unionist), Njoki Njoroge Njehu
(50 Years Is Enough Network)
and Mats Karlsson (World
Bank), and had an audience of
200 as well as a heavy media
presence. The debate covered
similar ground as the seminar.
In addition, Bove argued that
northern and southern small
farmers have a common interest
in preserving national
agriculture; he called for a
moratorium for multilateral
liberalization in this area.
Enders countered that such a
moratorium is a disservice to
farmers in developing
countries for whom market
opening in rich countries is
an important vehicle to
develop and to overcome
poverty, especially when
combined with reforms to
strengthen governance in their
own countries.
The tone of the debate was
civil, with the audience
clearly favoring the positions
of CSO representatives.
Regardless of their differing
views, several participants
expressed appreciation that
the IMF and the World Bank had
sent staff to participate.
Back to
Table of Contents
Oxfam UK Director
Meets IMF Managing Director
Oxfam UK Director Barbara
Stocking and IMF Managing
Director Horst Köhler met in
December for the second time,
resuming their discussion on
how to improve the work of the
Fund in low-income countries
(LICs). Ms. Stocking and Mr.
Köhler differed on a number of
issues, but their lively
meetings show a common concern
for the issues at stake. As
during their first meeting in
December 2001, a major topic
of discussion was trade, where
there was an agreement on the
need to open up the markets of
rich countries and
substantially reduce their
subsidies of agricultural
products.
Ms. Stocking said she
recognized Mr. Köhler's
genuine commitment to LICs,
and that there have been some
real changes in IMF policies.
However, she felt the gap
between policies and actual
practice is large, and
although the Fund is becoming
more poverty focused, it is
moving very slowly. Other
concerns also remain, she
noted, presenting the findings
of the Oxfam paper
"The IMF and the Millennium
Development Goals: Failing to
deliver for low income
countries." She focused on
two issues: the lack of fiscal
flexibility in IMF-supported
programs and the concern about
what the paper terms "aid
pessimism". She encouraged the
Fund to be more positive about
aid, where appropriate. She
also said Fund assessments
should take into account more
than just macroeconomic
stability; that they should
include long-term plans for
poverty reduction as well as
the short term macroeconomic
conditions.
Mr. Köhler said he
appreciated the acknowledgment
of the IMF's enhanced efforts
to improve its role in LICs.
He explained that the strategy
is based on three elements: 1)
the Millennium Development
Goals; 2) the Monterrey
consensus and the two-pillar
approach (country-owned
domestic frameworks and
policies, and an enabling
international environment);
and 3) the constant refinement
of the PRSP/PRGF process
(presently under
IEO
review) and the PSIA approach.
He added that the IMF must
have a firm line on
macroeconomic stability, but
that expressing concerns about
macroeconomic instability that
might arise from possible
increases of aid inflows does
not mean that the IMF is
opposed to increasing
development assistance. He
added that the truth is that
rich countries are not moving
fast enough to change policies
that would have a positive
effect on poor countries. At
the same time, poor countries
are still not implementing
policies that would promote
poverty reduction.
Back to
Table of Contents
Poverty
Reduction:
Poverty Reduction
Conference in Cambodia
Phnom Penh - The
Second East Asia and Pacific
Conference on Poverty
Reduction Strategies
took place on October
16-18, with representatives of
11 low-income countries
participating. The conference
was cosponsored by the IMF,
the World Bank, the United
Nations Development Program
and the Asian Development
Bank. As with past conferences
involving countries that have
prepared a Poverty Reduction
Strategy Paper (PRSP), the
most valuable aspect was the
exchange of experiences and
ideas among the
representatives of low-income
countries, with the mix of
government officials, CSO
representatives, and donors
enriching the dialogue.
While there was broad
acceptance of sound
macroeconomic frameworks as a
prerequisite for growth and
poverty reduction, there were
repeated calls for more fiscal
flexibility to implement PRSPs
and for more aid. There was
also an emphasis on the need
to deal with economic shocks.
The session on the forthcoming
LIC paper turned out to be
largely informative for the
delegates, particularly local
representatives of various
donors. Several speakers asked
about the need for continued
Fund engagement in LICs,
questioning how it is decided
that engagement continues. The
issue of dialogue on
macroeconomic issues in the
PRSP was also raised, with
delegates favoring a less
secretive approach on the part
of the Fund.
The countries participating
in the conference were
Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao
People's Democratic Republic,
Mongolia, Timor Leste, and
Vietnam; as well as five
observer countries—Bangladesh,
Bhutan, Nepal, Papua New
Guinea, and Sri Lanka.
Back to
Table of Contents
Independent
Evaluation office:
A Meeting with CSO
Representatives on the IEO
Work Program
On January 8, 2004 the
Director of the
Independent Evaluation Office
(IEO),
Montek Singh Ahluwalia,
and IEO senior staff met
representatives from CSOs to
discuss the
IEO work program for the
IMF's financial year beginning
May 1 and progress with the
evaluation of the PRSP and
PRGF initiatives. Among the
organizations participating
were Friends of the Earth,
ICFTU/Global Unions, New Rules
for Global Finance,
International Budget Project,
Religious Working Group on the
World Bank and IMF, and World
Vision International.
Mr. Ahluwalia presented the
IEO's current thinking on the
projects in the work program
and sought to gather CSOs'
views in order to form a final
judgment on how to sequence
the IEO's evaluation efforts.
CSOs represent an important
part of the IEO's audience, as
its
terms of reference state
that one of its
responsibilities is to create
a better understanding of Fund
activities among a broader
group of stakeholders. While
the CSO representatives at the
meeting said that all of the
projects were opportune and
valuable, they gave particular
support to those related to
structural conditionality,
capital account
liberalization, and the
experience with Fund program
involvement in crises that did
not involve the capital
account. Questions were raised
regarding the IEO's operations
and mandate, and the
limitations the office faces
evaluating Fund policy
formulation in current program
cases. (The
work program was posted on
the
IEO website for public
comments in October 2003.)
The discussion of the IEO
evaluation of the PRSP and
PRGF initiatives included the
nature and timing of the
project and messages that the
evaluation had started to
distill. Meeting participants
were briefed on an
outreach/consultation event
scheduled to take place in
mid-January in Addis Ababa.
That session was intended to
receive feedback from various
stakeholders (both government
and civil society) primarily
representing countries that
are included in the evaluation
as case studies. Questions and
comments included issues of
PSIA, PRGF linkage to PRSP,
opening of the policy space to
alternative options, and PRSP
principles and political
processes. (The
issues paper for the PRSP/PRGF
evaluation, available on
the
IEO website, gives the
list of the countries for
which case studies are being
undertaken.)
CSO participants expressed
interest in IEO outreach
activities. IEO staff said
that several events have
already been conducted, and
outreach efforts were expected
to intensify as more
evaluation projects reach
completion in the near future.
A variety of venues in
different countries have been
used to disseminate the
messages that have emerged
from completed projects, and
to present progress and seek
feedback with on-going
evaluations.
Mr. Ahluwalia emphasized
the IEO's interest in
receiving suggestions from
CSOs on possible future
evaluation on a more
continuous basis and also in
receiving substantive inputs
relevant to ongoing
evaluations. It was noted that
contributions had been
received from several CSOs for
the PRSP/PRGF study.
Back to
Table of Contents
Letters
from the Field:
Regional visits in
Belarus
Zuzana Brixiova,
Resident Representative
In Belarus, the economy
remains predominantly
state-owned, with only about
20 percent of GDP produced in
the private sector. To
understand the economic
situation outside Minsk, and
especially conditions under
which the private sector in
Belarus operates, our office
undertook—together with the
senior officials of the
National Bank of Belarus (the
most reform-minded state
institution)—several regional
trips.
In the early 2003, we
visited the Brest region. We
met the officials from the
Brest branch of the National
Bank and local government, the
Free Economic Zone (FEZ)
"Brest," Priorbank (one of the
largest private banks in
Belarus), and entrepreneurs
outside of the FEZ. I was
hoping to hear about some of
the obstacles to private
sector development, and also
to visit enterprises that
prosper regardless. We heard
from the entrepreneurs about
the obstacles only informally,
when the government officials
were absent. Excessive state
intervention, cumbersome
licensing procedures,
complicated taxation, an
unstable legal framework and
limited access to credit were
the most common concerns.
Regarding prosperous
enterprises, we were impressed
by the joint Belarusian-German
enterprise Santa Bremor
operating in the FEZ Brest,
which processes and sells fish
products. It has substantial
foreign investment, covers
more than half of the Belarus
fish market, and exports to
several countries, including
Russia, Ukraine, Germany, and
Netherlands. Representatives
of the Association of
Entrepreneurs in Minsk (who
usually are critical) are
convinced that this enterprise
is not under an official
"umbrella," but prospers due
to the use of modern
technology and good management
practices. For a number of
years now this enterprise has
been considered a "success
case."
At the end of 2003, we
visited three private
enterprises in Vitebsk. Two of
them (a shoe producer and a
farm, both with majority
Belarusian private ownership)
were operating outside of the
FEZ, while one enterprise (a
wholly-owned German chocolate
producer) was in the FEZ. From
discussions with managers as
well as with the
representatives of the NBB
Vitebsk and the local state
committee, it became clear
that enterprises operating
outside of the FEZ are under
very close state inspection.
Unsurprisingly, their managers
listed excessive state
interventions and cumbersome
licensing procedures as the
main obstacles to their
activities. For example, the
manager/owner of the farm
(employing about 50 people)
explained that he is obliged
to sell the unprocessed milk
to state enterprises at a very
low price (set by the state)
because he cannot obtain a
license to process the milk.
The enterprise in the FEZ was
also recently subject to ad
hoc state intervention: the
government tried to suggest
that Russia (the main export
country for this enterprise)
is not a foreign territory and
hence the company should
search for other markets or to
pay taxes. Still, the issue
has been resolved and the
enterprise continues to export
to Russia under the FEZ tax
privileges.
See also
Resident Representative Office
in the Republic of Belarus
Website.
Back to
Table of Contents
An Update from the
Western Hemisphere Department
Edited by Leonardo
Cardemil, Advisor, Western
Hemisphere Department
In the context of a staff
visit, last December the
Chilean team met
representatives of labor
unions in Santiago, Chile.
The union representatives
expressed concern that recent
labor flexibility law
initiatives, including those
in the government's Pro-Growth
Agenda, had gone too far -
that they represent only
business interests and limit
the contractual basis for
employment. While
acknowledging that poverty had
declined over the past decade
or so, they observed that
income inequality remains
high.
During 2003, staff had the
opportunity to meet several
representatives of CSOs in
Honduras. These meetings
were useful to assess advances
in the National Dialogue and
the Fiscal Responsibility Pact
(two instruments linked to the
PRSP participatory process
through which the government
pursued a broad dialogue on
national issues), and to
exchange views with different
segments of society. Staff was
able to listen to the views of
teachers' unions, workers'
unions, religious leaders,
businessmen, farmers, women
CSOs, among others. These
groups were very appreciative
of the Fund's efforts to meet
with them and listen to their
concerns. Moreover, they
largely agreed with the Fund
on the need for sound fiscal
policies and a stable
macroeconomic environment.
Moreover, they were vocal
about the limited success in
reducing poverty and stressed
that to avoid social
disruption, the needed
adjustment should be gradual
and the burden should be
shared by all members of
society. The authorities
anchored their fiscal program
on the results of the Fiscal
Responsibility Pact.
Back to
Table of Contents
Bulletin Board
If you want to be notified
when new documents are
published on the IMF website,
please sign up for email
notification through our
website notification system.
Other recent meetings
between IMF staff and CSOs
- On October 21, the IMF
office in Paris hosted a
small lunch for CSOs on the
role of the Fund in
Low-Income Countries
with Mark Plant, Assistant
Director, Policy Development
and Review Department (PDR).
Representatives of the
Ministries of Finance and
Foreign Affairs also
attended. The meeting was
part of the continued
LIC paper outreach
effort, launched at the
Dubai Meetings.
- On October 23, Mark
Plant also met with a small
group of NGOs in London as
part of the LIC paper
outreach. The meeting was
organized by the External
Relations Department (EXR)
in cooperation with Oxfam
and chaired by Christian
Aid. In addition to the
Fund presentation of the
LIC paper, Oxfam
presented its
paper on the Fund's
contribution to achieving
the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs).
- Staff from the IMF's
United Nations Office (UNO)
and EXR participated in
informal hearings of civil
society and business that
were held in preparation for
the UN High Level
Dialogue on Financing for
Development, October
27-28, 2003. Given the wide
scope of the Monterrey
Consensus, including a
number of policy issues that
fall under the Fund's
mandate, this was an
opportunity to reach out to
CSOs and share information
about Fund policies and the
response to the Monterrey
Conference. Most
importantly, it was an
opportunity for UN delegates
and representatives of
international institutions
to listen to the concerns of
CSOs.
- Reinhard Munzberg,
Director of the IMF's UNO,
addressed the Annual
Parliamentary Hearing at
the UN on October 27. Over
120 legislators from 42
national parliaments and two
regional parliamentary
organizations participated
in the event. The meeting
was also attended by senior
UN officials, members of the
diplomatic community in New
York, and representatives of
other international
organizations. The topics
addressed by the
parliamentarians included:
follow-up to the Monterrey
Conference; the role of the
Bretton Woods institutions
in the international
financial architecture;
breaking the world trade
deadlock after Cancun; and
unleashing its potential for
development financing. For
the Fund, the meeting was an
opportunity to explain
recent developments, in
particular, the outcomes of
the 2003 Dubai Annual
Meetings and the Fund's
involvement with
parliamentarians. Relevant
website:
http://www.ipu.org/splz-e/unga03.htm
- At the United Nations
Online Network in Public
Administration and Finance (UNPAN)
5th Global
Forum on Reinventing
Government in Mexico
City, November 3-7, IMF
staff took part in a
workshop on Fiscal
Transparency: ROSCs and
Other Tools for Promoting
Continuing Fiscal Management
Reform. The workshop
examined the role of the IMF
fiscal transparency code and
fiscal transparency Reports
on the Observance of
Standards and Codes (ROSCs)
in promoting better fiscal
and financial management.
- IMF and World Bank staff
met representatives of the
international labor
movement on November 5
for a follow-up to last
year's high-level meeting
(see
Civil Society Newsletter,
January 2003). The
agenda focused on concrete
developments since last
year's meeting, on issues
such as poverty reduction,
reform of the international
financial architecture, and
ways to enhance the dialogue
between labor unions and the
Bretton Woods institutions.
- On November 19, Mark
Plant participated in a
panel discussion organized
by InterAction on the
role of the Fund in
Low-Income Countries,
another in the series of
outreach events related to
the LIC paper. Other
panelists represented
Friends of the Earth and
Oxfam International.
The discussion was chaired
by InterAction. About twelve
Washington-based NGO
representatives were
present. Patricia
Alonso-Gamo, recently
appointed chief of PDR's
PRGF division, also
attended.
- On November 20, Axel
Palmason of the IMF's UNO,
led a round table discussion
on implementation of the
MDGs entitled The Nexus
between the Implementation
of the Monterrey Consensus
and Meeting the MDGs.
The event was organized by
the World Federation of
United Nations Associations.
Around 60 people, including
diplomats, NGO
representatives, and UN
Secretariat staff attended.
The Fund's support for the
MDGs and the Monterrey
Consensus was of great
interest to participants in
this context.
- Elliott Harris, Advisor,
PDR, participated in the
Eurodad Annual Conference
on the theme Ideology and
Evolving Acronyms: Progress
or Doublespeak? held in
Prague, November 30-December
2. Over 90 participants from
civil society organizations
had a discussion of each of
the key development
initiatives, several of
which were discussed in more
detail in workshops.
- On December 3, the
Nicaragua mission team,
headed by mission chief
Philip Young, met a group of
NGOs to talk about a set of
issues, including
Nicaragua's tax system, the
country's HIPC status, and
Nicaragua's PSIAs.
Back to
Table of Contents
Upcoming Events
_
The IMF-World Bank Spring
Meetings will take place
on April 24-25, 2004. We will
keep you posted on CSO-related
activities during the week
before the Spring Meetings.
Inside the IMF
- Mark Allen is the new
Director of the IMF's Policy
Development and Review
Department, and
Leslie Lipschitz
Director of the IMF
Institute. Mr. Allen
succeeded Timothy Geithner,
who
has taken the position
of President of the Federal
Reserve Bank of New York.
Mr. Lipschitz succeeded
Mohsin Khan, who was earlier
appointed Director of
the IMF's Middle East and
Central Asia Department. Mr.
Allen and Mr. Lipschitz were
both Deputy Directors in the
Policy Development and
Review Department prior to
their appointment.
- The IMF begins on
February 9 the regular
publication of a weekly
calendar of its Executive
Board to enhance public
access to information about
the operations of the Fund.
The Executive Board is
responsible for overseeing
the day-to-day activities of
the Fund on behalf of its
member countries. The weekly
calendar, which will be
updated regularly, contains
the tentative schedule of
formal meetings and Board
seminars. The Board's agenda
is typically finalized the
day prior to each meeting,
so the calendar is therefore
tentative. Nevertheless, the
calendar provides the latest
available information on the
Executive Board's scheduled
activities. To view the
calendar, visit the IMF's
website at:
http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/bc/eng/index.asp.
The Executive Board approved
the release of its calendar
as part of the latest review
of the IMF's transparency
policy, which was completed
in September 2003 (See
Public Information Notice
No. 03/122).
Back to
Table of Contents
Selected Speeches
-
Moving on from Cancun:
Agricultural Trade and the
Poor, by Anne O.
Krueger, First Deputy
Managing Director,
Agricultural Trade Policy
Workshop, November 3, 2003,
Washington Terrace Hotel,
Washington D.C.
-
Constant Purpose, Changing
World - The IMF in the
Twenty-First Century, by
Anne O. Krueger, First
Deputy Managing Director,
Bradley Public Policy
Lecture, School of Business
Administration, University
of Wisconsin, Milwaukee,
Thursday October 30, 2003
-
The IMF as a Partner in
Implementing the Monterrey
Consensus, by Horst
Köhler, Managing Director,
United Nations General
Assembly, New York, October
30, 2003
-
Globalization: Challenges
Arising from the Sources of
Global Economic Growth,
by Anne O. Krueger, First
Deputy Managing Director,
IMF, G 20 Ministerial
Meeting, Morelia, Mexico,
October 26-27
-
Toward a Better
Globalization, by Horst
Köhler, Managing Director,
Inaugural Lecture on the
Occasion of the Honorary
Professorship Award at the
Eberhard Karls University in
Tübingen, Tübingen, October
16, 2003
Back to
Table of Contents
Selected Publications
-
The Effects of Fiscal
Policies on the Economic
Development of Women in the
Middle East and North
Africa, by Nicole L.
Laframboise, Tea Trumbic,
Working Paper No. 03/244
-
External Debt, Public
Investment, and Growth in
Low-Income Countries, by
Benedict J. Clements, Rina
Bhattacharya, Toan Quoc
Nguyen, Working Paper No.
03/249
-
China's Integration into the
World Economy: Implications
for Developing Countries,
by Yongzheng Yang, Working
Paper No. 03/245
-
Progress Report on the
Implementation of the Fund's
Africa Capacity-Building
Initiative, prepared by
the African Department and
the Office of Technical
Assistance Management, (in
consultation with the Fiscal
Affairs, Monetary and
Financial Systems, and
Statistics Departments),
December 11, 2003
-
Growth, Governance, and
Fiscal Policy Transmission
Channels in Low-Income
Countries, by Emanuele
Baldacci, Arye L Hillman,
Naoko C. Kojo, Fiscal
Affairs Department, Working
Paper No. 03/237
-
The Restructuring of
Sovereign Debt—Assessing the
Benefits, Risks, and
Feasibility of Aggregating
Claims, prepared by the
Legal Department (in
collaboration with the
Policy Development and
Review Department and in
consultation with the
International Capital
Markets and Research
Departments), September 3,
2003
-
Financial Development in the
CIS-7 Countries: Bridging
the Great Divide, by
Gianni De Nicolo, Sami
Geadah, Dmitriy Rozhkov,
Monetary and Financial
Systems Department, Working
Paper No. 03/205
-
Financial Integration in
Central America: Prospects
and Adjustment Needs, by
Jorge I. Canales Kriljenko,
Padamja Khandelwal,
Alexander C. Lehmann,
Monetary and Financial
Systems Department, Policy
Discussion Paper 03/3
-
Poverty and Social Impact
Analysis-A Suggested
Framework, by
Shahabuddin M. Hossain,
African Department, Working
Paper 03/195
-
The Effects of Exchange Rate
Fluctuations on Output and
Prices: Evidence from
Developing Countries, by
Magda E. Kandil, Ida Aghdas
Mirzaie, IMF Institute,
Working Paper No. 03/200
-
Promoting Fiscal
Transparency The
Complementary Roles of the
IMF, Financial Markets and
Civil Society, by Murray
Petrie, Fiscal Affairs
Department, Working Paper
No. 03/199
-
Dealing with Increased Risk
of Natural Disasters:
Challenges and Options,
by Paul Freeman, Michael J.
Keen, Muthukumara Mani,
Fiscal Affairs Department,
Working Paper No. 03/197
-
The Fund's Transparency
Policy—Issues and Next Steps,
prepared by the Policy
Development and Review
Department (in consultation
with other Departments),
September 29, 2003
Back to
Table of Contents |