The Political Morality of the International Monetary Fund

Bibliographic Data

ID9822155
AuthorsWilliam Diebold (corresponding author), Robert J Myers
Year1987
Volume66
Issue1
Pages194
Publication date1987-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueForeign Affairs (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0015-7120 • E-ISSN: 2327-7793
PublisherJSTOR (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.2307/20043313
OpenAlexW632863275
LanguageEN
Citations received4

Questions of international debt, world economic growth rates, and demands by the Third World nations for a new international economic order have thrust two relatively unknown international institutions, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, into public prominence.Controversy over the IMF--which helps debtor countries balance current accounts and meet debt payments--enters on the conditions that the lending institution places on receiving nations. Basically, debtor countries are required to put their economic house in order, usually by decreasing imports, increasing exports, and eliminating subsidies on food, gasoline, and other goods. Often, it is such subsidies that allow a government to maintain political support and control. Thus, meeting the requirements of the IMF can lead to domestic instability, as the riots in the Dominican Republic illustrated. Critics of the IMF often agree with the economic medicine but decry the side effects of the cure. Is enough attention being paid to the diversity of the debt-troubled nations? Is there a separate set of standards for the borrowers and the lenders in the IMF decision-making process? Is the IMF lending process fair? What are the often unintended effects of the IMF on foreign policy

Economics · Morality · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Global Financial Crisis and Policies · International Development and Aid · Law

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