Objectives. In this study, we evaluate the effects of the International Monetary Fund's structural adjustment programs (SAPs) on the public health performance of countries. We test the claim made by ...proponents of SAPs that although these programs may produce short-term hardship for the countries adopting them, they will generate positive developmental effects in the long term. Methods. Our study draws on a global data set and employs a model that takes into account the potential for selection bias in the adoption of SAPs by states. Results. The central finding of the article is that SAPs in the short term raise the exposure of populations to conditions that increase incidences of disability and death. Contrary to the assertions made by the advocates of SAPs, we also find evidence that these programs have attenuated but still harmful effect on public health performance in the long term. Conclusions. This study highlights the negative influences of SAPs on public health and suggests that a need exists to reevaluate the claims that have been made regarding the developmental effects of these programs.
This paper argues that the richer frequency and variety of fiscal policy shocks available in an international sample, which makes the use of this evidence attractive, should be analyzed recognizing ...the heterogeneity that exists across different countries. The main conclusion of the authors' empirical analysis is that the question "what is the fiscal policy multiplier" is an ill-posed one. There is no unconditional fiscal policy multiplier. The effect of fiscal policy on output is different depending on the different debt dynamics, the different degree of openness, and the different fiscal reaction functions across different countries. Such differences concern not only the size of the multiplier, but sometimes also its sign. There are many fiscal multipliers and an average fiscal multiplier is of very little use to describe the effect of exogenous shifts in fiscal policy on output.
One of the most significant new developments in the global post-crisis economy is the implementation of various unconventional monetary policies (UMP) by major central banks in the advanced countries ...with the ECB being not an exception. We summarize the evidence on international effects of the ECB’s unconventional monetary policy, which has been studied much less than those of the Fed, with rather mixed empirical findings for the time being. The estimated spillover effects for the same set of countries differ across the studies in terms of magnitudes, signs as well as with respect to detected operative transmission channels and factors determining these spillovers. The observed heterogeneity in results is largely attributed to the specifications of the ECB unconventional monetary shocks and modeling frameworks chosen by the authors, which implicitly consider only part of the transmission channels and omit others. Thus, the paper argues that development of more sophisticated and unified econometric frameworks is crucial for conducting future research on this theme and providing regional central banks with coherent policy implications. The paper finally assesses the scope for monetary policy coordination as a reaction to non-pecuniary spillover effects to other regions of the world from the political economy perspective.
This article examines the prospects for the development of a comprehensive global financial safety net (GFSN). It discusses the optimal layout of the GFSN, comprising the International Monetary Fund, ...regional financing arrangements (RFAs), as well as bilateral or multilateral central bank swap arrangements, and the relationship between these. It then briefly reviews and appraises the current structure and functioning of these different layers of the GFSN and discusses the need and scope for strengthening cooperation between RFAs and the IMF. It argues that the GFSN is still very patchy and there is little reason to expect significant progress in better collaboration between RFAs and the IMF as long as the latter's governance structure is not significantly revamped. Indeed, risks are that the GFSN will become even more fragmented with the further development of the European Stability Mechanism, and the emergence of the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement. To prevent a further fragmentation of the GFSN, substantial governance reform of the IMF is urgently needed.
Essential reading for understanding the international economy-now thoroughly updatedLucid, accessible, and provocative, and now thoroughly updated to cover recent events that have shaken the global ...economy, Globalizing Capital is an indispensable account of the past 150 years of international monetary and financial history-from the classical gold standard to today's post-Bretton Woods "nonsystem." Bringing the story up to the present, this third edition covers the global financial crisis, the Greek bailout, the Euro crisis, the rise of China as a global monetary power, the renewed controversy over the international role of the U.S. dollar, and the currency war. Concise and nontechnical, and with a proven appeal to general readers, students, and specialists alike, Globalizing Capital is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand where the international economy has been-and where it may be going.
There is a battle over military expenditure at the International Monetary Fund, with consistent pressure from its most powerful member for the Fund to get tough on military expenditure being pitted ...against lowerorder states' invocation of the organization's sovereignty-protecting rules and practices. While the formal victory of the lower-order states has been codified in the Fund's relatively weak Guidelines on Military Expenditure, on a case-by-case basis policy shifts continue to be imposed on borrowers through the application of informal influence by the US Executive Director in the IMF boardroom. By integrating insights from literature exploring the tension between formal rules and informal practices in international organizations, this case study extends the understanding offered in the international relations literature of the foundations of sovereign inequality in international politics.
The recent financial crisis has forced the central banks of many countries to use new monetary policy methods. The purpose of this research is to study the impact of the ECB's unconventional monetary ...policy on the Central and Eastern European countries, as they have economic and trade relations with the euro area. The influence of the ECB policy on the yield of long-term government bonds Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia and Ukraine and the investment flows in these countries were studied using VAR models. Unconventional monetary policy measures were presented by the volume of ECB’s assets balance sheet. The quarterly data was taken from the International Monetary Fund and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. As a result, was revealed a significant influence of the ECB's long-term interest rate on the yield government bonds of the studied countries. Also, the ECB policy stimulated the flow of investments, mainly in debt securities of Croatia, Romania, and Ukraine, with a predominance of portfolio investments.
A review essay covering books by 1) Claudia Kedar, The International Monetary Fund and Latin America: The Argentine Puzzle in Context (2013) and 2) Jennifer McCoy and Francisco Diez, International ...Mediation in Venezuela (2011).
Central bank currency swaps have emerged as a de facto key feature of the international monetary system, with the US Federal Reserve having extensive recourse to them during the financial crisis, and ...their exploitation by the People's Bank of China to help internationalizing the renminbi. Combined with the unlimited and exclusive power of central banks to create money these swaps can match the volatility of international capital flows. However, they have so far not been associated with conditionality, and are more precarious than alternative institutional arrangements. Strictly framing the discretionary use of this tool seems unrealistic but an internationally agreed set of principles would enable a fairer and perhaps more efficient exploitation of this instrument.
What explains the changes in International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditionality? I argue that IMF conditionality agreements are influenced by supplementary financiers. The IMF regularly relies on ...external financing to supplement its loans to countries facing payments imbalances. As a result, these supplementary financiers are able to exercise leverage over the IMF and the design of its conditionality programs. I consider the influence of one type of supplementary financier, private financial institutions, on IMF conditionality. “Conclusions are supported by a data set of 249 conditionality arrangements, coded according to their terms, and two case studies.”
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