View source for International Monetary Fund

{{Short description|Financial institution and UN specialized agency}}
{{redirect|IMF}}
{{Use American English|date=September 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}
{{Infobox organization
| logo                     = IMF-Seal ENG RGB.svg
| logo_caption             = The Seal of the International Monetary Fund
| image                    = International Monetary Fund (IMF) (53844898894).jpg
| caption                  = Headquarters in [[Washington, D.C.]]
| motto                    = 
| name                     = International Monetary Fund
| formation                = {{start date and age|1944|7|22|df=yes}}
| type                     = [[International financial institutions|International financial institution]]
| purpose                  = Promote international monetary co-operation, facilitate [[international trade]], foster sustainable economic growth, make resources available to members experiencing [[balance of payments]] difficulties, prevent and assist with recovery from international financial crises<ref name="about"/>
| headquarters             = 700 19th Street NW, [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S.
| coords                   = {{coord|38|53|56|N|77|2|39|W|type:landmark_region:US-DC|display=inline,title}}
| language                 = [[English language|English]]<ref name="Boughton 2001 7n5">{{harvnb|Boughton|2001|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=dY8Wm4-8yGYC&pg=PA7 7 n.5]}}.</ref>
| leader_title             = Managing Director
| leader_name              = [[Kristalina Georgieva]]
| leader_title2            = First Deputy Managing Director
| leader_name2             = [[Dan Katz]]<ref name="IMF-FDMD">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2025/09/18/pr25302-imf-md-kristalina-georgieva-proposes-the-appointment-of-daniel-katz-as-fdmd |title= IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva Proposes the Appointment of Daniel Katz as First Deputy Managing Director |publisher=International Monetary Fund |access-date=18 September 2025 }}</ref>
| leader_title3            = Chief Economist
| leader_name3             = [[Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas]]<ref name="IMF-Gourinchas">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2022/01/10/pr2201-imf-managing-director-names-pierre-olivier-gourinchas-economic-counsellor-head-research-dept |title=IMF Managing Director Names Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas as IMF Economic Counsellor and Head of Research Department |website=International Monetary Fund |access-date=28 January 2022 |archive-date=11 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411172033/https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2022/01/10/pr2201-imf-managing-director-names-pierre-olivier-gourinchas-economic-counsellor-head-research-dept |url-status=live }}</ref>
| main_organ               = [[Board of Governors]]
| parent_organization      = United Nations<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/imfwb.htm |title=Factsheet: The IMF and the World Bank |date=21 September 2015 |access-date=1 December 2015 |publisher=International Monetary Fund |archive-date=3 June 2004 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040603104319/https://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/imfwb.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About the IMF Overview |url=https://www.imf.org/external/about/overview.htm |publisher=International Monetary Fund |access-date=1 August 2017 |archive-date=8 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200908092937/https://www.imf.org/external/about/overview.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>
| budget                   = $1,295 million<ref>{{cite web |title=Download the full report {{!}} IMF Annual Report 2023 |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/ar/2023/english/ |access-date=21 April 2024 |website=www.imf.org |archive-date=21 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421120351/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/ar/2023/english/ |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Rp|page=60}}
| budget_year              = 2023
| abbreviation             = IMF
| location                 = 
| region                   = Worldwide
| membership               = 191
countries (190 UN countries and Kosovo)<ref name="IMF members">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/About/executive-board/members-quotas |title=IMF Members' Quotas and Voting Power, and IMF Board of Governors |publisher=International Monetary Fund |date=5 August 2025 |access-date=6 August 2025 }}</ref>
| staff                    = 
| num_staff                = 3,100<ref name="about"/>
| num_volunteers           = 
| website                  = {{URL|https://www.imf.org/|imf.org}}
}}
{{United Nations series}}
The '''International Monetary Fund''' ('''IMF''') is an [[international financial institution]] and a [[specialized agency of the United Nations|specialized agency]] of the [[United Nations]], headquartered in [[Washington, D.C.]] It consists of 191 member countries, and its stated mission is "working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate [[international trade]], promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and [[poverty reduction|reduce poverty]] around the world".<ref name="about">{{cite web |title=About the IMF |url=https://www.imf.org/external/about.htm |url-status=live |access-date=14 October 2012 |website=International Monetary Fund |language=en-US |archive-date=16 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121016081524/https://www.imf.org/external/about.htm }}</ref> The IMF acts as a [[lender of last resort]] to its members experiencing actual or potential [[balance of payments]] crises.<ref name="What's Wrong">{{cite book |last1=Isard |first1=Peter |title=Globalization and the International Financial System: What's Wrong and What Can be Done |year=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=New York }}</ref>

Established in July 1944 at the [[Bretton Woods Conference]] based on the ideas of [[Harry Dexter White]] and [[John Maynard Keynes]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Bordo |first1=M.D. |title=The Bretton Woods International Monetary System: A Historical Overview |journal=A Retrospective on the Bretton Woods System |editor1-first=M.D. |editor1-last=Bordo |editor2-first=Barry |editor2-last=Eichengreen |location=London |year=1993 |doi=10.7208/chicago/9780226066905.001.0001 |isbn=9780226065878 |ref=none}}</ref> the IMF came into formal existence in 1945 with 29 member countries and the goal of reconstructing the [[international monetary system]]. For its first three decades, the IMF oversaw the [[Bretton Woods system]] of [[fixed exchange rate]] arrangements. Following the collapse of this system in 1971, the Fund's role shifted to managing balance-of-payments difficulties and international financial crises, becoming a key institution in the era of [[globalization]].<ref name="Lipscy 2015">{{cite journal |last=Lipscy |first=Phillip Y. |date=2015 |title=Explaining Institutional Change: Policy Areas, Outside Options, and the Bretton Woods Institutions |journal=American Journal of Political Science |volume=59 |issue=2 |pages=341–356 |doi=10.1111/ajps.12130 }}</ref>

Through a quota system, countries contribute funds to a pool from which they can borrow if they experience balance-of-payments problems; a country's quota also determines its voting power.<ref name="Political Economy of IMF voting">{{Harvnb|Blomberg|Broz|2006}}.</ref> As a condition for loans, the IMF often requires borrowing countries to undertake policy reforms, known as [[structural adjustment]].<ref name="An Analysis of IMF Conditionality">{{cite journal |last1=Buira |first1=Ariel |title=An Analysis of IMF Conditionality |journal=G-24 Discussion Papers |date=August 2003 |series=United Nations Conference on Trade and Development |issue=22 }}</ref> The organization also provides technical assistance and economic surveillance of its members' economies.<ref name="There is No Invisible Hand">{{cite journal |last=Schlefer |first=Jonathan |title=There is No Invisible Hand |url=https://hbr.org/2012/04/there-is-no-invisible-hand |journal=[[Harvard Business Review]] |via=hbr.org |publisher=Harvard Business Publishing |date=10 April 2012 |access-date=15 March 2016 |archive-date=7 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230807123659/https://hbr.org/2012/04/there-is-no-invisible-hand |url-status=live }}</ref>

The IMF's loan conditions have been criticized for imposing [[austerity]] measures that can hinder economic recovery and harm the most vulnerable populations.<ref name=Hertz>Hertz, [[Noreena]]. ''The Debt Threat''. New York: [[Harper Collins Publishers]], 2004.</ref> Critics argue that the Fund's policies limit the economic sovereignty of borrowing nations and that its governance structure is dominated by Western countries, which hold a disproportionate share of voting power.<ref name="People Before Profit" /> The current managing director and chairperson is Bulgarian economist [[Kristalina Georgieva]], who has held the position since 1 October 2019.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.apnews.com/3a8293b07f91434193221028f96aea68 |title=Economist who grew up in communist Bulgaria is new IMF chief |first=Martin |last=Crutsinger |date=25 September 2019 |publisher=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=18 June 2020 |archive-date=21 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421025910/https://apnews.com/3a8293b07f91434193221028f96aea68 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== History ==

=== 20th century ===
[[File:Gold Room Bretton Woods 5.jpg|thumb|Plaque Commemorating the Formation of the IMF in July 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference]]
[[File:The Gold Room Bretton Woods Reverse Angle.jpg|thumb|The Gold Room within the [[Mount Washington Hotel]], where the [[Bretton Woods Conference]] attendees signed the agreements creating the IMF and [[World Bank]]]]
[[File:Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund.jpg|thumb|First page of the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund, 1 March 1946, Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs archives]]

The IMF was originally laid out as a part of the [[Bretton Woods system]] exchange agreement in the year 1944.<ref name="Jensen, pp 194-210">{{cite journal |last1=Jensen |first1=Nathan |title=Crisis, Conditions, and Capital: The Effect of the International Monetary Fund on Foreign Direct Investment |journal=Journal of Conflict Resolution |year=2004 |pages=194–210 |doi=10.1177/0022002703262860 |volume=48 |issue=2 |s2cid=154419320 }}</ref> During the [[Great Depression]], countries sharply raised barriers to trade in an attempt to improve their failing economies. This led to the [[devaluation]] of national currencies and a decline in world trade.<ref Name=CoopAndRecon>{{cite web |title=Cooperation and Reconstruction (1944–71) |url=http://www.imf.org/external/about/histcoop.htm |work=About the IMF |access-date=18 March 2012 |archive-date=23 January 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090123142240/http://www.imf.org/external/about/histcoop.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

This breakdown in international monetary cooperation created a need for oversight. The representatives of 45 governments met at the [[Bretton Woods Conference]] in the Mount Washington Hotel in [[Bretton Woods, New Hampshire]], in the United States, to discuss a framework for postwar international economic cooperation and how to rebuild Europe.{{citation needed| date = July 2025}}

There were two views on the role the IMF should assume as a global economic institution. American delegate [[Harry Dexter White]] foresaw an IMF that functioned more like a bank, making sure that borrowing states could repay their debts on time.<ref name="auto">{{cite journal |title=IMF History and Structural Adjustment Conditions |journal=UC Atlas of Global Inequality |series=Economic Crises |url=http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/sap/history.php |access-date=18 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120422104204/http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/sap/history.php |archive-date=22 April 2012 }}</ref> Most of White's plan was incorporated into the final acts adopted at Bretton Woods. British economist [[John Maynard Keynes]], on the other hand, imagined that the IMF would be a cooperative fund upon which member states could draw to maintain economic activity and employment through periodic crises. This view suggested an IMF that helped governments and act as the United States government had during the New Deal to [[Great Depression|the great depression of the 1930s]].<ref name="auto"/>

The agreement at Bretton Woods implied that both the IMF and the World Bank would be headquartered in the United States. US Treasury Secretary [[Henry Morgenthau Jr.]] intended them to be located in [[New York City|New York]], but his successor [[Fred M. Vinson]] unilaterally decided that they would be in [[Washington, D.C.]] instead, noting that "the institutions would be fatally prejudiced in American opinion if they were placed in New York, since they would then come under the taint of 'international finance'".<ref>{{cite book |title=Global Capital Markets: Integration, Crisis, and Growth |author=Maurice Obstfeld & Alan M. Taylor |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=2004}}</ref>{{rp|151}} The IMF formally came into existence on 27 December 1945, when the first 29 countries [[ratified]] its Articles of Agreement.<ref>{{cite book |page=79 |url={{Google books|alysnLedf5oC |page=PA79 |keywords= |text= |plainurl=yes}} |title=International Financial Management |isbn=978-93-81141-07-6 |last1=Somanath |first1=V.S. |year=2011 |publisher=I. K. International Pvt }}</ref> By the end of 1946 the IMF had grown to 39 members.<ref name=Vries86>{{cite book |pages=66–68 |url={{Google books|ckFzL3xr8kAC |page=PA66 |keywords= |text= |plainurl=yes}} |title=The IMF in a Changing World: 1945–85 |isbn=978-1-4552-8096-4 |last1=De Vries |first1=Margaret G |year=1986 }}</ref> On 1 March 1947, the IMF began its financial operations,<ref>{{cite book |page=269 |url={{Google books|NLGFgoJ0qHUC |page=PA269 |keywords= |text= |plainurl=yes}} |title=Growth of the International Economy 1820–2000: An Introductory Text |isbn=978-0-203-19935-0 |last1=Kenwood |first1=George |last2=Lougheed |first2=Alan |date=2002 |publisher=Taylor & Francis }}</ref> and on 8 May France became the first country to borrow from it.<ref name=Vries86/>

The IMF was one of the key organizations of the international economic system; its design allowed the system to balance the rebuilding of international capitalism with the maximization of national economic sovereignty and human welfare, also known as [[embedded liberalism]].<ref name="chorev"/> The IMF's influence in the global economy steadily increased as it accumulated more members. Its membership began to expand in the late 1950s and during the 1960s as many African countries became independent and applied for membership. But the [[Cold War]] limited the Fund's membership, with most countries in the Soviet sphere of influence not joining until 1970s and 1980s.<ref Name=CoopAndRecon /><ref name="IMF-C6">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/history/2012/pdf/c6.pdf |title=II The IMF and the Transition from Central Planning |page=255 |publisher=International Monetary Fund |access-date=1 November 2023 |archive-date=19 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231119174714/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/history/2012/pdf/c6.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[https://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/memdir/memdate.htm List of members by date] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304074955/https://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/memdir/memdate.htm |date=4 March 2016 }}, IMF</ref>

The Bretton Woods exchange rate system prevailed until 1971 when the United States government suspended the convertibility of the US$ (and dollar reserves held by other governments) into gold. This is known as the [[Nixon Shock]].<ref Name=CoopAndRecon /> The changes to the IMF articles of agreement reflecting these changes were ratified in 1976 by the [[Jamaica Accords]]. Later in the 1970s, large commercial banks began lending to states because they were awash in cash deposited by oil exporters. The lending of the so-called money center banks led to the IMF changing its role in the 1980s after a world recession provoked a crisis that brought the IMF back into global financial governance.<ref>{{Cite book |title=International monetary cooperation since Bretton Woods |last1=James |first1=Harold |date=1996 |publisher=International Monetary Fund |isbn=9781455293070 |oclc=955641912 }}</ref>

In the mid-1980s, the IMF shifted its narrow focus from currency stabilization to a broader focus of promoting market-liberalizing reforms through structural adjustment programs.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Kentikelenis |first1=Alexander E. |last2=Babb |first2=Sarah |date=2019 |title=The Making of Neoliberal Globalization: Norm Substitution and the Politics of Clandestine Institutional Change |url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/702900 |journal=American Journal of Sociology |volume=124 |issue=6 |pages=1720–1762 |doi=10.1086/702900 |s2cid=195571195 |issn=0002-9602 |access-date=8 April 2023 |archive-date=8 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230408201149/https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/702900 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription }}</ref> This shift occurred without a formal renegotiation of the organization's charter or operational guidelines.<ref name=":1" /> The [[Presidency of Ronald Reagan|Ronald Reagan administration]], in particular Treasury Secretary [[James Baker]], his assistant secretary [[David C. Mulford|David Mulford]] and deputy assistant secretary [[Charles Dallara]], pressured the IMF to attach market-liberal reforms to the organization's conditional loans.<ref name=":1" />

During the 20th century, the IMF shifted its position on capital controls. Whereas the IMF permitted capital controls at its founding and throughout the 1970s, IMF staff increasingly favored free capital movement from 1980s onwards.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Chwieroth |first=Jeffrey M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-DgDKWbm6yIC |title=Capital Ideas: The IMF and the Rise of Financial Liberalization |date=2009 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-3382-5 |pages=105–186 |access-date=7 May 2023 |archive-date=23 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523024327/https://books.google.com/books?id=-DgDKWbm6yIC |url-status=live }}</ref> This shift happened in the aftermath of an emerging consensus in economics on the desirability of free capital movement, retirement of IMF staff hired in the 1940s and 1950s, and the recruitment of staff exposed to new thinking in economics.<ref name=":3" />

=== 21st century ===

The IMF provided two major lending packages in the early 2000s to Argentina (during the [[1998–2002 Argentine great depression]]) and Uruguay (after the [[2002 Uruguay banking crisis]]).<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zdrrW4pn-88C&q=imf+uruguay+2002&pg=PA214 |title=Imf Survey No. 13 2002 |last1=Fund |first1=International Monetary |date=2002 |publisher=International Monetary Fund |isbn=978-1-4552-3157-7 }}</ref> However, by the mid-2000s, IMF lending was at its lowest share of world GDP since the 1970s.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Reinhart |first1=Carmen M. |last2=Trebesch |first2=Christoph |date=2016 |title=The International Monetary Fund: 70 Years of Reinvention |journal=Journal of Economic Perspectives |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=3–28 |doi=10.1257/jep.30.1.3 |issn=0895-3309 |doi-access=free |hdl=10419/128382 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>

In May 2010, the IMF participated, in 3:11 proportion, in the [[Greek government-debt crisis#Rescue packages provided by the EU and IMF|first Greek bailout]] that totaled €110 billion, to address the great accumulation of public debt, caused by continuing large public sector deficits. As part of the bailout, the Greek government agreed to adopt austerity measures that would reduce the deficit from 11% in 2009 to "well below 3%" in 2014.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr10187 |title=Press Release: IMF Executive Board Approves €30 Billion Stand-By Arrangement for Greece |website=IMF |access-date=8 May 2023 |archive-date=8 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508150757/https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr10187 |url-status=live }}</ref> The bailout did not include [[debt restructuring]] measures such as a [[Haircut (finance)|haircut]], to the chagrin of the Swiss, Brazilian, Indian, Russian, and Argentinian Directors of the IMF, with the Greek authorities themselves (at the time, PM [[George Papandreou]] and Finance Minister [[Giorgos Papakonstantinou]]) ruling out a haircut.<ref name="tpp3feb">{{Cite web |url=https://www.thepressproject.net/article/55653/IMF-leak-European-banks-had-committed-to-maintain-exposure-in-Greek-bonds-after-first-bailout---but-didnt |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019030859/http://www.thepressproject.net/article/55653/IMF-leak-European-banks-had-committed-to-maintain-exposure-in-Greek-bonds-after-first-bailout---but-didnt |title=IMF leak: European banks had committed to maintain exposure in Greek bonds after first bailout - but didn't |archive-date=19 October 2014 |website=The Press Project |date=3 February 2014 }}</ref>

A second bailout package of more than €100&nbsp;billion was agreed upon over the course of a few months from October 2011, during which time Papandreou was forced from office. The so-called [[Troika (finance)|Troika]], of which the IMF is part, are joint managers of this programme, which was approved by the executive directors of the IMF on 15 March 2012 for [[Special drawing rights|XDR]] 23.8&nbsp;billion<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/international/int-monetary-fund/Documents/1Q-REPORT%2012.pdf |title=Quarterly Report to Congress on International Monetary Fund Lending: 1st Qtr 2012 |website=U.S. Department of the Treasury |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917014000/http://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/international/int-monetary-fund/Documents/1Q-REPORT%2012.pdf |archive-date=17 September 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and saw private bondholders take a [[Haircut (finance)|haircut]] of upwards of 50%. In the interval between May 2010 and February 2012 the private banks of Holland, France, and Germany reduced exposure to Greek debt from €122&nbsp;billion to €66&nbsp;billion.<ref name="tpp3feb" /><ref name="elp131">{{cite news |url=http://economia.elpais.com/economia/2014/01/31/actualidad/1391203282_052648.html |title=Berlín y París incumplen con Grecia |date=1 February 2014 |newspaper=El País |first1=Luis |last1=Doncel |access-date=12 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140418102419/http://economia.elpais.com/economia/2014/01/31/actualidad/1391203282_052648.html |archive-date=18 April 2014 }}</ref>

{{as of|2012|January|}}, the largest borrowers from the IMF in order were Greece, Portugal, Ireland, Romania, and Ukraine.<ref>[http://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/01/2012117101021447184.html IMF's biggest borrowers] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200809011723/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/europe/2012/01/2012117101021447184.html |date=9 August 2020 }}, ''[[Al Jazeera Media Network|Al Jazeera]]'' (17 Jan 2012)</ref>

On 25 March 2013, a €10&nbsp;billion international [[bailout]] of Cyprus was agreed by the [[Troika (finance)|Troika]], at the cost to the Cypriots of its agreement: to close the [[Cyprus Popular Bank|country's second-largest bank]]; to impose a one-time [[bank deposit levy]] on Bank of Cyprus uninsured deposits.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/cypriot-banks-to-reopen-amid-criticism-of-bailout/2013/03/27/dd56757c-96e1-11e2-b68f-dc5c4b47e519_story.html |title=Cypriot banks to reopen amid criticism of bailout |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=27 March 2013 |first1=Max |last1=Ehrenfreund |access-date=1 September 2017 |archive-date=1 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210101061150/https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/cypriot-banks-to-reopen-amid-criticism-of-bailout/2013/03/27/dd56757c-96e1-11e2-b68f-dc5c4b47e519_story.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/03/26/cyprus-disaster-shines-light-on-global-tax-haven-industry/#discussions |publisher=MSNBC |date=26 March 2013 |title=Cyprus disaster shines light on global tax haven industry no |access-date=2 April 2013 |archive-date=27 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130327212857/http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/03/26/cyprus-disaster-shines-light-on-global-tax-haven-industry/#discussions |url-status=live }}</ref> No [[Deposit insurance|insured deposit]] of €100k or less were to be affected under the terms of a novel [[bail-in]] scheme.<ref name="ReutersNewdeal">{{cite news |author=Jan Strupczewski |author2=Annika Breidthardt |title=Last-minute Cyprus deal to close bank, force losses |work=Reuters |date=25 March 2013 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cyprus-parliament-idUSBRE92G03I20130325 |access-date=25 March 2013 |archive-date=25 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130325042059/https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/25/us-cyprus-parliament-idUSBRE92G03I20130325 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Ekathimerini">{{cite news |title=Eurogroup signs off on bailout agreement reached by Cyprus and troika |newspaper=Ekathimerini |location=Greece |date=25 March 2013 |url=http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_25/03/2013_489702 |access-date=25 March 2013 |archive-date=26 March 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130326124216/http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_wsite1_1_25/03/2013_489702 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The topic of sovereign debt restructuring was taken up by the IMF in April 2013, for the first time since 2005, in a report entitled "Sovereign Debt Restructuring: Recent Developments and Implications for the Fund's Legal and Policy Framework".<ref name="imf.org">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/np/pp/eng/2013/042613.pdf |title=Sovereign Debt Restructuring – Recent Developments and Implications for the Fund's Legal and Policy Framework |date=26 April 2013 |publisher=imf.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130612121339/https://www.imf.org/external/np/pp/eng/2013/042613.pdf |archive-date=12 June 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref> The paper, which was discussed by the board on 20 May,<ref name="ReferenceA">{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pn/2013/pn1361.htm |title=IMF Executive Board Discusses Sovereign Debt Restructuring – Recent Developments and Implications for the Fund's Legal and Policy Framework |publisher=IMF Public Information Notice |access-date=19 June 2014 |archive-date=22 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170422013253/http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pn/2013/pn1361.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> summarised the recent experiences in Greece, St Kitts and Nevis, Belize, and Jamaica. An explanatory interview with deputy director Hugh Bredenkamp was published a few days later,<ref name="ReferenceB">{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sopol052313a |title=IMF Survey: IMF Launches Discussion of Sovereign Debt Restructuring |first1=IMF Survey |last1=online |website=IMF |access-date=24 May 2020 |archive-date=1 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801205618/https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/28/04/53/sopol052313a |url-status=live }}</ref> as was a deconstruction by [[Matina Stevis]] of ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''.<ref name="blogs.wsj.com">{{cite news |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/brussels/2013/05/24/imf-searches-soul-blames-europe/ |title=IMF Searches Soul, Blames Europe |first1=Matina |last1=Stevis |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=24 May 2013 |access-date=4 August 2017 |archive-date=10 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710012441/https://blogs.wsj.com/brussels/2013/05/24/imf-searches-soul-blames-europe/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

In the October 2013, '''Fiscal Monitor''' publication, the IMF suggested that a [[capital levy]] capable of reducing Euro-area government debt ratios to "end-2007 levels" would require a very high tax rate of about 10%.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fm/2013/02/pdf/fm1302.pdf |title=Fiscal Monitor: "Taxing Times" Oct 2013, p. 49 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131015055625/http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fm/2013/02/pdf/fm1302.pdf |archive-date=15 October 2013 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The '''Fiscal Affairs''' department of the IMF, headed at the time by Acting Director Sanjeev Gupta, produced a January 2014 report entitled "Fiscal Policy and Income Inequality" that stated that "Some taxes levied on wealth, especially on immovable property, are also an option for economies seeking more [[progressive taxation]] ... Property taxes are equitable and efficient, but underutilized in many economies ... There is considerable scope to exploit this tax more fully, both as a revenue source and as a redistributive instrument."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imf.org/external/np/pp/eng/2014/012314.pdf |title=IMF: "Fiscal Affairs and Income Inequality" 23 Jan 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140316063646/http://www.imf.org/external/np/pp/eng/2014/012314.pdf |archive-date=16 March 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In late 2019, the IMF estimated global growth in 2020 to reach 3.4%, but due to the coronavirus, in November 2020, it expected the global economy to shrink by 4.4%.<ref>{{cite news |date=15 October 2019 |title=IMF warns world growth slowest since financial crisis |language=en-GB |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50047929 |access-date=22 November 2020 |archive-date=30 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130171251/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-50047929 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="BBC News">{{Cite news |date=19 November 2020 |title=IMF: Economy 'losing momentum' amid virus second wave |language=en-GB |publisher=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-55006982 |access-date=22 November 2020 |archive-date=21 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201121202830/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-55006982 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In March 2020, [[Kristalina Georgieva]] announced that the IMF stood ready to mobilize $1 trillion as its response to the [[COVID-19 pandemic]].<ref name="cornbc">{{cite news |title=IMF says it's ready to mobilize its $1 trillion lending capacity to fight coronavirus |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/16/imf-says-its-ready-to-mobilize-its-1-trillion-lending-capacity-to-fight-coronavirus.html |publisher=CNBC |date=16 March 2020 |access-date=29 March 2020 |archive-date=29 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329125513/https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/16/imf-says-its-ready-to-mobilize-its-1-trillion-lending-capacity-to-fight-coronavirus.html |url-status=live }}</ref> This was in addition to the $50 billion fund it had announced two weeks earlier,<ref name="corbbc">{{cite news |title=IMF provides $50bn to fight coronavirus outbreak |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51732459 |publisher=BBC |date=5 March 2020 |access-date=29 March 2020 |archive-date=28 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200328155423/https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51732459 |url-status=live }}</ref> of which $5 billion had already been requested by [[Iran]].<ref name="coralj">{{cite news |title=Iran asks IMF for $5bn emergency funding to fight coronavirus |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/iran-asks-imf-5bn-emergency-funding-fight-coronavirus-200312124121692.html |publisher=Al Jazeera Media Network |date=12 March 2020 |access-date=29 March 2020 |archive-date=30 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200330001811/https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/iran-asks-imf-5bn-emergency-funding-fight-coronavirus-200312124121692.html |url-status=live }}</ref> One day earlier on 11 March, the UK called to pledge £150 million to the IMF catastrophe relief fund.<ref name="corimf">{{cite news |title=United Kingdom Boosts IMF's Catastrophe Relief Fund with £150 million |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/03/11/pr2084-united-kingdom-boosts-imfs-catastrophe-relief-fund-with-gbp150-million |issue=Press release 20/84 |publisher=INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND |date=11 March 2020 |access-date=29 March 2020 |archive-date=29 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200329130506/https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2020/03/11/pr2084-united-kingdom-boosts-imfs-catastrophe-relief-fund-with-gbp150-million |url-status=live }}</ref> It came to light on 27 March that "more than 80 poor and middle-income countries" had sought a bailout due to the coronavirus.<ref name="cortg">{{cite news |title=Dozens of poorer nations seek IMF help amid coronavirus crisis |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/27/dozens-poorer-nations-seek-imf-help-coronavirus-crisis |work=The Guardian |date=27 March 2020 }}</ref>

On 13 April 2020, the IMF said that it "would provide immediate debt relief to 25 member countries under its [[Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust]] (CCRT)" programme.<ref name="gnmc">{{cite news |title=Global Covid-19 cases near 2 million as Putin warns Russia faces 'extraordinary' crisis |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/14/global-covid-19-cases-near-2-million-as-putin-warns-russia-faces-extraordinary-crisis |work=The Guardian |date=14 April 2020 }}</ref>

In February 2026, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) urged the United States to work with its trading partners to mutually ease trade restrictions and address unfair practices, warning that sweeping tariffs and export controls under the Trump administration had disrupted supply chains and could drag on economic activity. The IMF's review also highlighted concerns about the rising public debt and called for narrowly applied national security trade measures to minimise negative cross-border effects as part of its annual assessment of the U.S. economy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=IMF urges US to work with partners to ease trade restrictions |url=https://www.channelnewsasia.com/world/imf-us-ease-trade-restrictions-work-partners-5953761 |access-date=2026-02-27 |website=CNA |language=en}}</ref>

==Governance and membership==
[[File:International Monetary Fund Map.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.5|{{legend|#008000|IMF member states }} {{legend|#00FF00|IMF member states not accepting the obligations of Article VIII, Sections 2, 3, and 4<ref>[http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/aa/aa08.htm Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund, Article VIII – General Obligations of Members]<br />Section 2: Avoidance of restrictions on current payments;<br /> Section 3: Avoidance of discriminatory currency practices;<br />Section 4: Convertibility of foreign-held balances.</ref>}} {{legend|#CDC3CC|Former IMF states/non-participants/no data available}}]]

Not all member countries of the IMF are sovereign states, and therefore not all "member countries" of the IMF are members of the United Nations.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/Countries |title=IMF Country Information |website=IMF |access-date=8 May 2023 |archive-date=20 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920202727/http://www.imf.org/external/country/index.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Amidst "member countries" of the IMF that are not member states of the UN are non-sovereign areas with special jurisdictions that are officially under the sovereignty of full UN member states, such as [[Aruba]], [[Curaçao]], [[Hong Kong]], and [[Macau|Macao]], as well as [[Kosovo]].<ref name=imfkos>{{cite web |title=Republic of Kosovo is now officially a member of the IMF and the World Bank |work=The Kosovo Times |date=29 June 2009 |url=http://www.kosovotimes.net/flash-news/676-republic-of-kosovo-is-now-officially-a-member-of-the-imf-and-the-world-bank.html |access-date=29 June 2009 |quote=Kosovo signed the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank) on behalf of Kosovo at the State Department in Washington. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090702140822/http://www.kosovotimes.net/flash-news/676-republic-of-kosovo-is-now-officially-a-member-of-the-imf-and-the-world-bank.html |archive-date=2 July 2009 }}</ref><ref name=imfkospr>{{cite press release |title=Kosovo Becomes the International Monetary Fund's 186th Member |publisher=International Monetary Fund |date=29 June 2009 |url=http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2009/pr09240.htm |access-date=29 June 2009 |archive-date=5 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090705094550/http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2009/pr09240.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The corporate members appoint ''ex-officio'' [[#Voting power|voting members, who are listed below]]. All members of the IMF are also [[International Bank for Reconstruction and Development]] (IBRD) members and vice versa.<ref>{{cite web |title=Member Countries |url=https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/leadership/members |website=World Bank IBRD IDA |publisher=The World Bank |access-date=22 April 2021 |archive-date=15 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190815221613/https://www.worldbank.org/en/about/leadership/members |url-status=live }}</ref>

Former members are [[Cuba]] (which left in 1964),<ref name=cuba>{{cite web |title=Brazil calls for Cuba to be allowed into IMF |work=Caribbean Net News |date=27 April 2009 |url=http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/cuba/cuba.php?news_id=15996&start=0&category_id=5 |access-date=7 May 2009 |quote=Cuba was a member of the IMF until 1964, when it left under revolutionary leader Fidel Castro following his confrontation with the United States.}}{{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> and [[Taiwan]], which was ejected from the IMF<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/history/2001/ch19.pdf |title=Toward Universal Membership |access-date=14 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303212624/http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/history/2001/ch19.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016 }}</ref> in 1980 after losing the support of the then United States President [[Jimmy Carter]] and was replaced by the [[China|People's Republic of China]].<ref name="The Wall Street Journal">{{cite news |last1=Andrews |first1=Nick |author2=Bob Davis |title=Kosovo Wins Acceptance to IMF |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=7 May 2009 |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124154560907188151 |access-date=7 May 2009 |quote=Taiwan was booted out of the IMF in 1980 when China was admitted, and it hasn't applied to return since. |archive-date=9 January 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150109231723/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124154560907188151 |url-status=live }}</ref> However, "[[Taiwan Province of China]]" is still listed in the official IMF indices.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2012/01/weodata/co.htm |title=World Economic Outlook Database for April 2012 – Country information |publisher=Imf.org |date=17 April 2012 |access-date=7 November 2012 |archive-date=13 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231013131555/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2012/01/weodata/co.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Polish People's Republic|Poland]] withdrew in 1950—allegedly pressured by the [[Soviet Union]]—but returned in 1986. The former [[Czechoslovakia]] was expelled in 1954 for "failing to provide required data" and was readmitted in 1990, after the [[Velvet Revolution]].<ref name="IMF-C6" />

Apart from Cuba, the other UN states that do not belong to the IMF are [[Monaco]] and [[North Korea]]. [[Liechtenstein]] became the 191st member on 21 October 2024.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Vogt |first=Desiree |date=19 October 2024 |title=Ab Montag ist Liechtenstein offiziell IWF-Mitglied |url=https://www.vaterland.li/liechtenstein/politik/ab-montag-ist-liechtenstein-offiziell-iwf-mitglied-art-579704 |access-date=19 October 2024 |work=[[Liechtensteiner Vaterland]] |language=de }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Ntow |first=Francis |date=22 October 2024 |title=Liechtenstein becomes 191st IMF member |url=https://gna.org.gh/2024/10/liechtenstein-becomes-191th-imf-member/ |access-date=22 October 2024 |work=[[Ghana News Agency]] }}</ref>

===Qualifications===
Any country may apply to be a part of the IMF. Post-IMF formation, in the early postwar period, rules for IMF membership were left relatively loose. Members needed to make periodic membership payments towards their quota, to refrain from currency restrictions unless granted IMF permission, to abide by the Code of Conduct in the IMF Articles of Agreement, and to provide national economic information. However, stricter rules were imposed on governments that applied to the IMF for funding.<ref name="chorev"/>

The countries that joined the IMF between 1945 and 1971 agreed to keep their exchange rates secured at rates that could be adjusted only to correct a "fundamental disequilibrium" in the balance of payments, and only with the IMF's agreement.<ref>{{cite news |title=What is the IMF? |newspaper=Telegraph |date=12 April 2011 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8443610/What-is-the-IMF.html |access-date=3 July 2020 |archive-date=26 September 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926075954/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/economics/8443610/What-is-the-IMF.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Benefits===
Member countries of the IMF have access to information on the economic policies of all member countries, the opportunity to influence other members' economic policies, [[technical assistance]] in banking, fiscal affairs, and exchange matters, financial support in times of payment difficulties, and increased opportunities for trade and investment.<ref>{{cite web |title=Obligations and Benefits of IMF Membership |work=Money Matters: An IMF Exhibit – The Importance of Global Cooperation |publisher=International Monetary Fund |url=https://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/center/mm/eng/mm_bnfts.htm |access-date=2 December 2018 |archive-date=3 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203055815/https://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/center/mm/eng/mm_bnfts.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Voting power===
{{Main|Special drawing rights}}

Voting power in the IMF is based on a quota system. Each member has a number of '''basic votes''', equal to 5.502% of the '''total votes''',<ref>{{cite web |title=Membership |url=http://www.imf.org/external/about/members.htm#function |work=About the IMF |publisher=International Monetary Fund |access-date=18 March 2012 |archive-date=5 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905073131/http://www.imf.org/external/about/members.htm#function |url-status=live }}</ref> plus one additional vote for each [[special drawing rights|special drawing right]] (SDR) of 100,000 of a member country's quota.<ref name="Political Economy of IMF voting"/> The SDR is the unit of account of the IMF and represents a potential claim to currency. When SDRs were created in 1969, they were each worth 0.888671 grams of [[Gold standard|gold]], roughly the equivalent of one [[History of the United States dollar|US dollar]] at the time. In 1973, following the termination of the [[Bretton Woods system|Bretton Woods agreement]] in 1971, the IMF redefined the SDR as equivalent to the value of a specific selection of [[Currency basket|world currencies]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2015-12-01 |title=The I.M.F.'s Tool, and What It Means for World Trade (Published 2015) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/01/business/international/imf-sdr-renminbi-china-explainer.html |access-date=2025-09-10 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=What is the SDR? |url=https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2023/special-drawing-rights-sdr |access-date=2025-09-10 |website=IMF |language=en}}</ref> The basic votes generate a slight bias in favour of small countries, but the additional votes determined by SDR outweigh this bias.<ref name="Political Economy of IMF voting" /> Changes in the voting shares require approval by a super-majority of 85% of voting power.<ref name="Lipscy 2015" />

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Quota and voting shares for the largest IMF members<ref name="IMF members"/>
!rowspan=2|Rank!!rowspan=2|IMF Member country!!colspan=2|Quota!!rowspan=2|Governor!! rowspan=2|Alternate!!rowspan=2| No. of votes!!rowspan=2|% of total<br />votes
|-
!millions of<br />[[Special drawing rights|XDR]]!!% of the<br />total
|-
|1||{{flagcountry|United States}}||82,994.2||17.42||[[Michael Kaplan (economist)|Michael Kaplan]]||''[[United States Federal Reserve|Vacant]]''||831,394||16.49
|-
|2||{{flagcountry|Japan}}||30,820.5||6.47||[[Satsuki Katayama]]||[[Kazuo Ueda]]||309,657||6.14
|-
|3||{{flagcountry|China}}||30,482.9||6.40||[[Pan Gongsheng|Gongsheng Pan]]||{{Ill|Xuan Changneng|lt=Changneng Xuan|zh|宣昌能}}||306,281||6.08
|-
|4||{{flagcountry|Germany}}||26,634.4||5.59||[[Joachim Nagel]]||[[Lars Klingbeil]]||267,796||5.31
|-
|5||{{flagcountry|France}}||20,155.1||4.23||[[Roland Lescure]]||[[François Villeroy de Galhau]]||203,003||4.03
|-
|6||{{nowrap|{{flagcountry|United Kingdom}}}}||20,155.1||4.23||[[Rachel Reeves]]||[[Andrew Bailey (banker)|Andrew Bailey]]||203,003||4.03
|-
|7||{{flagcountry|Italy}}||15,070.0||3.16||[[Giancarlo Giorgetti]]||[[Fabio Panetta]]||152,152||3.02
|-
|8||{{flagcountry|India}}||13,114.4||2.75||[[Nirmala Sitharaman]]||[[Sanjay Malhotra]]||132,596||2.63
|-
|9|||{{flagcountry|Russia}}||12,903.7||2.71||[[Anton Siluanov]]||[[Elvira Nabiullina|Elvira S. Nabiullina]]||130,489||2.59
|-
|10||{{flagcountry|Brazil}}||11,042.0||2.32||[[Fernando Haddad]]||[[Gabriel Galípolo|Gabriel Muricca Galípolo]]||111,872||2.22
|-
|11||{{flagcountry|Canada}}||11,023.9||2.31||[[François-Philippe Champagne|Francois-Philippe Champagne]]||[[Tiff Macklem]]||111,691||2.22
|-
|12||{{flagcountry|Saudi Arabia}}||9,992.6||2.10||[[Mohammed Al-Jadaan|Mohammed Aljadaan]]||{{Ill|Ayman Alsayari|ar|أيمن السياري}}||101,378||2.01
|-
|13||{{flagcountry|Spain}}||9,535.5||2.00||[[Carlos Cuerpo]]||[[José Luis Escrivá]]||96,807||1.92
|-
|14||{{flagcountry|Mexico}}||8,912.7||1.87||[[Edgar Amador Zamora]]||[[Victoria Rodríguez Ceja]]||90,579||1.80
|-
|15||{{flagcountry|Netherlands}}||8,736.5||1.83||[[Olaf Sleijpen]]||Jasper Wesseling||88,817||1.76
|-
|16||{{flagcountry|South Korea}}||8,582.7||1.80||[[Koo Yun-cheol|Yun-cheol Koo]]||[[Rhee Chang-yong|Chang Yong Rhee]]||87,279||1.73
|-
|17||{{flagcountry|Australia}}||6,572.4||1.38||[[Jim Chalmers]]||[[Jenny Wilkinson]]||67,176||1.33
|-
|18||{{flagcountry|Belgium}}||6,410.7||1.35||{{Ill|Pierre Wunsch|fr}}||[[Jan Jambon]]||65,559||1.30
|-
|19||{{flagcountry|Switzerland}}||5,771.1||1.21||[[Martin Schlegel|Martin Reto Schlegel]]||[[Karin Keller-Sutter]]||59,163||1.17
|-
|20||{{flagcountry|Turkey}}||4,658.6||0.98||[[Mehmet Şimşek]]||[[Fatih Karahan]]||48,038||0.95
|-
|21||{{flagcountry|Indonesia}}||4,648.4||0.98||[[Perry Warjiyo]]||[[Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa]]||47,936||0.95
|-
|22||{{flagcountry|Sweden}}||4,430.0||0.93||[[Erik Thedéen]]||Johanna Lybeck Lilja||45,752||0.91
|-
|23||{{flagcountry|Poland}}||4,095.4||0.86||[[Andrzej Domański]]||{{ill|Marta Kightley|pl}}||42,406||0.84
|-
|24||{{flagcountry|Austria}}||3,932.0||0.83||[[Martin Kocher]]||Edeltraud Stiftinger||40,772||0.81
|-
|25||{{flagcountry|Singapore}}||3,891.9||0.82||[[Gan Kim Yong|Kim Yong Gan]]||Der Jiun Chia||40,371||0.80
|}

In December 2015, the [[United States Congress]] adopted a legislation authorising the 2010 Quota and Governance Reforms. As a result,
* all 190 members' quotas will increase from a total of about XDR 238.5 billion to about XDR 477 billion, while the quota shares and voting power of the IMF's poorest member countries will be protected.
* more than 6 percent of quota shares will shift to dynamic emerging market and developing countries and also from over-represented to under-represented members.
* four emerging market countries (Brazil, China, India, and Russia) will be among the ten largest members of the IMF. Other top 10 members are the United States, Japan, Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Italy.<ref>IMF [http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2015/pr15573.htm IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde Welcomes U.S. Congressional Approval of the 2010 Quota and Governance Reforms] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170608185639/http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2015/pr15573.htm |date=8 June 2017 }}, Press release No. 15/573, 18 December 2015.</ref>

====Effects of the quota system====
The IMF's quota system was created to raise funds for loans.<ref name="chorev"/> Each IMF member country is assigned a quota, or contribution, that reflects the country's relative size in the global economy. Each member's quota also determines its relative voting power. Thus, financial contributions from member governments are linked to voting power in the organization.<ref name="Political Economy of IMF voting" />

This system follows the logic of a shareholder-controlled organization: wealthy countries have more say in the making and revision of rules.<ref name="chorev"/> Since decision making at the IMF reflects each member's relative economic position in the world, wealthier countries that provide more money to the IMF have more influence than poorer members that contribute less; nonetheless, the IMF focuses on redistribution.<ref name="Political Economy of IMF voting" />

====Inflexibility of voting power====
Quotas are normally reviewed every five years and can be increased when deemed necessary by the board of governors. IMF voting shares are relatively inflexible: countries that grow economically have tended to become under-represented as their voting power lags behind.<ref name="Lipscy 2015" /> Currently, reforming the representation of [[developing countries]] within the IMF has been suggested.<ref name="Political Economy of IMF voting" /> These countries' economies represent a large portion of the global economic system but this is not reflected in the IMF's decision-making process through the nature of the quota system. [[Joseph Stiglitz]] argues, "There is a need to provide more effective voice and representation for developing countries, which now represent a much larger portion of world economic activity since 1944, when the IMF was created."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stiglitz and Members of a UN Commission on Financial Experts |first1=Joseph E. |title=The Stiglitz Report: Reforming the International Monetary and Financial Systems in the Wake of the Global Crisis |year=2010 |publisher=The New Press |location=New York }}</ref> In 2008, a number of quota reforms were passed including shifting 6% of quota shares to dynamic emerging markets and developing countries.<ref>{{cite web |title=Factsheet: IMF Quotas |url=http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/quotas.htm |work=About the IMF |publisher=The International Monetary Fund |access-date=9 March 2011 |archive-date=30 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230430152628/http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/quotas.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Overcoming the borrower/creditor divide====
The IMF's membership is divided along income lines: certain countries provide financial resources while others use these resources. Both [[developed country]] "creditors" and [[developing country]] "borrowers" are members of the IMF. The developed countries provide the financial resources but rarely enter into IMF loan agreements; they are the creditors. Conversely, the developing countries use the lending services but contribute little to the pool of money available to lend because their quotas are smaller; they are the borrowers. Thus, tension is created around governance issues because these two groups, creditors and borrowers, have fundamentally different interests,<ref name="Political Economy of IMF voting" /> and low-income "borrowing" members lack meaningful representation in IMF decision-making.<ref>Finnerty, M., [https://assets.ctfassets.net/vy3axnuecuwj/3OUFMItzFSuwIYFSx6OiQe/f031ab12a39ced84ac6afa453855deca/Jubilee_2025_The_new_global_debt_crisis_and_its_solutions.pdf Jubilee 2025: The new global debt crisis and its solutions], ''[[CAFOD]]'', p. 4, published in December 2024, accessed on 2 July 2025</ref>

The criticism is that the system of voting power distribution through a quota system institutionalizes borrower subordination and creditor dominance. The resulting division of the IMF's membership into borrowers and non-borrowers has increased the controversy around conditionality because the borrowers are interested in increasing loan access while creditors want to maintain reassurance that the loans will be repaid.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kafka |first1=Alejandre |title=Some IMF Problems after the Committee of Twenty |work=International Financial Policy: Essays in honour of Jaques J. Polack |url=https://www.elibrary.imf.org/view/IMF071/03699-9781557751966/03699-9781557751966/ch05.xml |url-access=subscription |access-date=2 December 2018 |date=September 1991 |archive-date=3 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181203062835/https://www.elibrary.imf.org/view/IMF071/03699-9781557751966/03699-9781557751966/ch05.xml |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Operations ==
[[File:Board of Governors International Monetary Fund.jpg|thumb|Board of Governors International Monetary Fund (1999)]]
According to the IMF itself, it works to foster global growth and [[economic stability]] by providing policy advice and financing to its members. It also works with [[developing country|developing countries]] to help them achieve macroeconomic stability and reduce poverty.<ref>{{cite web |title=About the IMF |url=http://www.imf.org/external/about.htm |publisher=International Monetary Fund |access-date=12 March 2012 |archive-date=28 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328154323/https://www.imf.org/external/about.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The rationale for this is that private international capital markets function imperfectly and many countries have limited access to financial markets. Such market imperfections, together with balance-of-payments financing, provide the justification for official financing, without which many countries could only correct large external payment imbalances through measures with adverse economic consequences.<ref name="What's Wrong"/> The IMF provides alternate sources of financing such as the [[Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility]].<ref name="PRGF info">{{cite news |last1=Shahwan |first1=Najla |title=What's the goal of IMF's new fund for low-income countries? |url=https://www.dailysabah.com/opinion/op-ed/whats-the-goal-of-imfs-new-fund-for-low-income-countries |access-date=18 January 2023 |publisher=Daily Sabah |date=2 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220504093856/https://www.dailysabah.com/opinion/op-ed/whats-the-goal-of-imfs-new-fund-for-low-income-countries |archive-date=4 May 2022 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Upon the founding of the IMF, its three primary functions were: 
* to oversee the [[fixed exchange rate system|fixed exchange rate]] arrangements between countries,<ref name="Jensen 2004, April, Issue 48">{{cite journal |last1=Jensen |first1=Nathan |title=Crisis, Conditions, and Capital: The Effect of the IMF on Direct Foreign Investment |journal=Journal of Conflict Resolution |date=April 2004 |issue=2 |doi=10.1177/0022002703262860 |volume=48 |pages=194–210 |s2cid=154419320 }}</ref> thus helping national governments manage their [[exchange rate]]s and allowing these governments to prioritize economic growth,<ref name="chorev">{{cite journal |last1=Chorev |first1=Nistan |author2=Sarah Babb |title=The crisis of neoliberalism and the future of international institutions: a comparison of the IMF and the WTO |journal=Theory and Society |doi=10.1007/s11186-009-9093-5 |volume=38 |issue=5 |pages=459–484 |date=2009 |s2cid=55564202 }}</ref> and
* to provide short-term capital to aid the [[balance of payments]]<ref name="Jensen 2004, April, Issue 48" /> and prevent the spread of international [[financial crisis]].
* to help mend the pieces of the international economy after the [[Great Depression]] and [[World War II]]<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lastra |first1=Rosa Maria |date=2000 |title="The International Monetary Fund in Historical Perspective." |url=https://academic.oup.com/jiel/article/3/3/507/829415 |journal=Journal of Economic Law |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=507–523 |doi=10.1093/jiel/3.3.507 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> as well as to provide capital investments for economic growth and projects such as [[infrastructure]].{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

The IMF's role was fundamentally altered by the [[floating exchange rate]]s after 1971. It shifted to examining the economic policies of countries with IMF loan agreements to determine whether a shortage of capital was due to [[business cycle|economic fluctuations]] or economic policy. The IMF also researched what types of government policy would ensure economic recovery.<ref name="Jensen 2004, April, Issue 48"/> A particular concern of the IMF was to prevent financial crises, such as those in [[Mexico]] in 1982, [[Brazil]] in 1987, the [[1997 Asian financial crisis]], and the [[1998 Russian financial crisis]], from spreading and threatening the entire global financial and currency system. The challenge was to promote and implement a policy that reduced the frequency of crises among emerging market countries, especially the middle-income countries which are vulnerable to massive capital outflows.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fischer |first1=Stanley |title=Financial Crises and Reform of the International Financial System |journal=Review of World Economics |volume=139 |pages=1–37 |date=March 2003 |url=http://www.nber.org/papers/w9297.pdf |doi=10.1007/BF02659606 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706182931/http://www.nber.org/papers/w9297.pdf |archive-date=6 July 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> Rather than maintaining a position of oversight of only exchange rates, their function became one of surveillance of the overall macroeconomic performance of member countries, as well as advising on economic policies.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bird |first=Graham |date=2007 |orig-date=11 July 2007 |title=The IMF: A Bird's Eye View of Its Role and Operations |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-6419.2007.00517.x |journal=Journal of Economic Surveys |language=en |volume=21 |issue=4 |pages=683–684 |doi=10.1111/j.1467-6419.2007.00517.x |issn=1467-6419|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In addition, the IMF negotiates conditions on lending and loans under their policy of [[conditionality]],<ref name="Jensen 2004, April, Issue 48" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Babb |first1=Sarah L. |last2=Carruthers |first2=Bruce G. |date=2008 |title=Conditionality: Forms, Function, and History |journal=Annual Review of Law and Social Science |volume=4 |issue=1 |pages=13–29 |doi=10.1146/annurev.lawsocsci.4.110707.172254 |issn=1550-3585 |doi-access=free }}</ref> which was established in the 1950s.<ref name="chorev" /> [[developing country|Low-income countries]] can borrow on [[Loan#Concessional|concessional terms]], which means there is a period of time with no interest rates, through the Extended Credit Facility (ECF), the Standby Credit Facility (SCF) and the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF). Non-concessional loans, which include interest rates, are provided mainly through the [[IMF Stand-By Arrangement|Stand-By Arrangements]] (SBA), the Flexible Credit Line (FCL), the Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL), and the Extended Fund Facility. The IMF provides emergency assistance via the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to members facing urgent balance-of-payments needs.<ref>{{cite web |title=Factsheet: IMF Lending |url=http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/howlend.htm |work=About the IMF |publisher=International Monetary Fund |access-date=8 April 2012 |archive-date=9 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170609114556/http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/howlend.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== Surveillance of the global economy ===
The IMF is mandated to oversee the international monetary and financial system and monitor the economic and financial policies of its member countries.<ref name="IMF Surveillance: A Case Study on IMF Governance">{{cite web |last1=Bossone |first1=Biagio |title=IMF Surveillance: A Case Study on IMF Governance |url=http://www.ieo-imf.org/ieo/files/completedevaluations/05212008BP08_10.pdf |publisher=Independent Office of the International Monetary Fund |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110904122308/http://www.ieo-imf.org/ieo/files/completedevaluations/05212008BP08_10.pdf |archive-date=4 September 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Accurate estimations require a degree of participatory surveillance. Market sizes and economic facts are estimated using member-state data, shared and verifiable by the organization's other member-states. This transparency is intended to facilitate international co-operation and trade.<ref>{{cite web |title=Factsheet: IMF Surveillance |url=http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/surv.htm |work=About the IMF |publisher=International Monetary Fund |access-date=8 April 2012 |archive-date=29 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170529191700/http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/surv.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Since the demise of the [[Bretton Woods system]] of fixed exchange rates in the early 1970s, surveillance has evolved largely by way of changes in procedures rather than through the adoption of new obligations.<ref name="IMF Surveillance: A Case Study on IMF Governance"/>

The Fund typically analyses the appropriateness of each member country's economic and financial policies for achieving orderly economic growth, and assesses the consequences of these policies for other countries and for the [[global economy]].<ref name="IMF Surveillance: A Case Study on IMF Governance" /> For instance, The IMF played a significant role in individual countries, such as Armenia and Belarus, in providing financial support to achieve stabilization financing from 2009 to 2019.<ref>Vinokurov, Evgeny, Artem Levenkov, and Gennady Vasiliev. Global Financial Safety Net in Eurasia: Accessibility of Macroeconomic Stabilization Financing in Armenia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. WP/20/2, 2020.</ref> The maximum sustainable debt level of a polity, which is watched closely by the IMF, was defined in 2011 by IMF economists to be 120%.<ref name="imfmsd">{{cite web |author1=Fiscal Affairs Department |author2=((Strategy, Policy, and Review Department)) |editor1-last=Cottarelli |editor1-first=Carlo |editor2-last=Moghadam |editor2-first=Reza |title=Modernizing the Framework for Fiscal Policy and Public Debt Sustainability Analysis |website=International Monetary Fund |date=5 August 2011 |url=https://www.imf.org/external/np/pp/eng/2011/080511.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111016170627/https://www.imf.org/external/np/pp/eng/2011/080511.pdf |archive-date=16 October 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=November 2025|reason= Couldn't locate 120% definition in source.}} Indeed, it was at this number that the [[Greek government-debt crisis]] started in 2010.<ref name="acii10">{{cite news |last1=Chowdhury |first1=Anis |last2=Islam |first2=Iyanatul |title=Is there an optimal debt-to-GDP ratio? |url=https://voxeu.org/debates/commentaries/there-optimal-debt-gdp-ratio |publisher=Centre for Economic Policy Research |date=9 November 2010 |access-date=29 August 2020 |archive-date=15 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220215013634/https://voxeu.org/debates/commentaries/there-optimal-debt-gdp-ratio |url-status=dead }}</ref><!-- Italy has been at over 120% since 2012 and is doing fine. Maybe it should be specified this is rough guidance -->

[[File:IMF DDS.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.8|IMF [[#Data Dissemination Systems|Data Dissemination Systems]] participants: {{legend|#FF8040|IMF member using SDDS}} {{legend|#ff00ff|IMF member using GDDS}} {{legend|#008000|IMF member, not using any of the DDSystems}} {{legend|#ffff00|non-IMF entity using SDDS}} {{legend|#ff0000|non-IMF entity using GDDS}} {{legend|#B9B9B9|no interaction with the IMF}}]]

In 1995, the International Monetary Fund began to work on data dissemination standards with the view of guiding IMF member countries to disseminate their economic and financial data to the public. The International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) endorsed the guidelines for the dissemination standards and they were split into two tiers: The [[General Data Dissemination System]] (GDDS) and the [[Special Data Dissemination Standard]] (SDDS).<ref>{{Cite news |title=IMF STANDARDS FOR DATA DISSEMINATION |url=https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2023/Standards-for-data-dissemination |access-date=16 June 2023 |publisher=International Monetary Fund |archive-date=16 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230616233627/https://www.imf.org/en/About/Factsheets/Sheets/2023/Standards-for-data-dissemination |url-status=live }}</ref>

The executive board approved the SDDS and GDDS in 1996 and 1997, respectively, and subsequent amendments were published in a revised ''Guide to the General Data Dissemination System''. The system is aimed primarily at statisticians and aims to improve many aspects of statistical systems in a country. It is also part of the [[World Bank]] [[Millennium Development Goals]] (MDG) and [[Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper|Poverty Reduction Strategic Papers (PRSPs)]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=International Monetary Fund. Statistics Dept. |date=17 Dec 2013 |year=2013 |title=The General Data Dissemination System : guide for participants and users. |url=https://elibrary.imf.org/openurl?genre=book&isbn=9781475567649 |access-date=2026-01-05 |website=elibrary.imf.org |series=Manuals & Guides |publisher=International Monetary Fund |page=13 |language=English |doi=10.5089/9781475567649.069 |isbn=9781475567649 |issn=2663-3744}}</ref>

The primary objective of the GDDS is to encourage member countries to build a framework to improve data quality and statistical capacity building to evaluate statistical needs, set priorities in improving timeliness, [[Transparency (behavior)|transparency]], reliability, and accessibility of financial and economic data. Some countries initially used the GDDS, but later upgraded to SDDS.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

Some entities that are not IMF members also contribute statistical data to the systems:
* [[Palestinian Authority]] – GDDS
* [[Hong Kong]] – SDDS
* [[Macau]] – GDDS<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr07179 |title=Press Release: Macao SAR Begins Participation in the IMF's General Data Dissemination System |website=IMF |access-date=8 May 2023 |archive-date=8 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508150800/https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr07179 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* Institutions of the [[European Union]]: 
** The [[European Central Bank]] for the [[Eurozone]] – SDDS
** [[Eurostat]] for the whole EU – SDDS, thus providing data from Cyprus (not using any DDSystem on its own) and Malta (using only GDDS on its own).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board |url=https://dsbb.imf.org/sdds/eurostat-note |access-date=2026-01-05 |website=Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB)}}</ref>
A 2021 study found that the IMF's surveillance activities have "a substantial impact on sovereign debt with much greater impacts in emerging than high-income economies".<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Breen |first1=Michael |last2=Doak |first2=Elliott |date=2021 |title=The IMF as a global monitor: surveillance, information, and financial markets |journal=Review of International Political Economy |volume=30 |pages=307–331 |doi=10.1080/09692290.2021.2004441 |s2cid=244505303 |issn=0969-2290 |doi-access=free |url=http://doras.dcu.ie/26479/1/2021-RIPE.pdf }}</ref>

=== Conditionality of loans ===

IMF conditionality is a set of policies or conditions that the IMF requires in exchange for financial resources.<ref name="Jensen 2004, April, Issue 48" /> The IMF does require [[Collateral (finance)|collateral]] from countries for loans but also requires the government seeking assistance to correct its macroeconomic imbalances in the form of policy reform.<ref name="guimaraes">{{cite journal |last1=Guimaraes |first1=Bernardo |author2=Iazdi, Oz |title=IMF conditionalities, liquidity provision, and incentives for fiscal adjustment |journal=International Tax and Public Finance |doi=10.1007/s10797-014-9329-9 |volume=22 |issue=5 |pages=705–722 |date=2015 |s2cid=56183488 |url=http://www.anpec.org.br/encontro/2013/files_I/i5-5e7f7107de5221fadae3ba6af6faff87.pdf }}</ref> If the conditions are not met, the funds are withheld.<ref name="Jensen 2004, April, Issue 48" /><ref name="An Analysis of IMF Conditionality"/> The concept of conditionality was introduced in a 1952 executive board decision and later incorporated into the Articles of Agreement.{{citation needed|date=July 2025}}

Conditionality is associated with economic theory as well as an enforcement mechanism for repayment. Stemming primarily from the work of [[Jacques J. Polak|Jacques Polak]], the theoretical underpinning of conditionality was the "monetary approach to the balance of payments".<ref name="chorev" />

==== Structural adjustment ====
{{Further|Structural adjustment}}

Some of the conditions for structural adjustment can include:
* Cutting expenditures or raising revenues, also known as [[austerity]].
* Focusing economic output on direct export and [[resource extraction]],
* [[Devaluation]] of currencies,
* [[Trade liberalisation]], or lifting import and export restrictions,
* Increasing the stability of investment (by supplementing [[foreign direct investment]] with the opening of facilities for the domestic market),
* [[Balanced budget|Balancing budgets]] and not overspending,
* Removing [[price control]]s and state [[subsidy|subsidies]],
* [[Privatization]], or [[divestiture]] of all or part of state-owned enterprises,
* Enhancing the rights of [[foreign investors]] vis-a-vis national laws,
* Improving [[governance]] and fighting corruption,

These conditions are known as the [[Washington Consensus]].

==== Benefits ====
These loan conditions ensure that the borrowing country will be able to repay the IMF and that the country will not attempt to solve their balance-of-payment problems in a way that would negatively impact the [[international economy]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Factsheet: IMF Conditionality |url=http://www.imf.org/eternal/np/exr/facts/conditio.htm |work=About the IMF |publisher=International Monetary Fund |access-date=18 March 2012 }}</ref><ref name="IMF Conditionality and Country Ownership of Programs">{{cite journal |last1=Khan |first1=Mohsin S. |author2=Sunil Sharm |title=IMF Conditionality and Country Ownership of Programs |journal=IMF Institute |date=24 September 2001 |url=http://www.icrier.org/pdf/harma.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031122104649/http://www.icrier.org/pdf/harma.pdf |archive-date=22 November 2003 |url-status=live }}</ref> The incentive problem of [[moral hazard]]—when [[economic agents]] maximise their own [[utility]] to the detriment of others because they do not bear the full consequences of their actions—is mitigated through conditions rather than providing collateral; countries in need of IMF loans do not generally possess internationally valuable collateral anyway.<ref name="IMF Conditionality and Country Ownership of Programs" />

Conditionality also reassures the IMF that the funds lent to them will be used for the purposes defined by the Articles of Agreement and provides safeguards that the country will be able to rectify its macroeconomic and structural imbalances.<ref name="IMF Conditionality and Country Ownership of Programs" /> In the judgment of the IMF, the adoption by the member of certain corrective measures or policies will allow it to repay the IMF, thereby ensuring that the resources will be available to support other members.<ref name="An Analysis of IMF Conditionality" />

{{As of|2004}}, borrowing countries have had a good track record for repaying credit extended under the IMF's regular lending facilities with full interest over the duration of the loan. This indicates that IMF lending does not impose a burden on creditor countries, as lending countries receive market-rate interest on most of their quota subscription, plus any of their own-currency subscriptions that are loaned out by the IMF, plus all of the reserve assets that they provide the IMF.<ref name="What's Wrong" />

===Use===
In 2008, the SAIS Review of International Affairs revealed that the average overall use of IMF credit per decade increased, in real terms, by 21% between the 1970s and 1980s, and increased again by just over 22% from the 1980s to the 1991–2005 period. Another study has suggested that since 1950 the continent of Africa alone has received $300&nbsp;billion from the IMF, the World Bank, and affiliate institutions.<ref name="MukherjeeIEOED">{{cite journal |last1=Mukherjee |first1=Bumba |title=International Economic Organizations and Economic Development |journal=SAIS Review of International Affairs |year=2008 |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=123–137 |doi=10.1353/sais.0.0013 |s2cid=154755471 }}</ref>

A study by Bumba Mukherjee found that developing [[Democracy|democratic countries]] benefit more from IMF programs than developing [[Autocracy|autocratic countries]] because policy-making, and the process of deciding where loaned money is used, is more transparent within a democracy.<ref Name= "MukherjeeIEOED" /> One study done by [[Randall Stone]] found that although earlier studies found little impact of IMF programs on balance of payments, more recent studies using more sophisticated methods and larger samples "usually found IMF programs improved the balance of payments".<ref name="Jensen, pp 194-210"/>

===Exceptional Access Framework – sovereign debt===
The Exceptional Access Framework was created in 2003 when [[John B. Taylor]] was Under Secretary of the [[US Treasury]] for International Affairs. The new Framework became fully operational in February 2003 and it was applied in the subsequent decisions on Argentina and Brazil.<ref>[https://www.imf.org/external/np/acc/2004/eng/032304.pdf inf.org: "International Monetary Fund – Review of Exceptional Access Policy"], {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070508080842/https://www.imf.org/external/np/acc/2004/eng/032304.pdf |date=8 May 2007 }}, 23 March 2004</ref> Its purpose was to place some sensible rules and limits on the way the IMF makes loans to support governments with debt problem—especially in emerging markets—and thereby move away from the bailout mentality of the 1990s. Such a reform was essential for ending the crisis atmosphere that then existed in emerging markets. The reform was closely related to and put in place nearly simultaneously with the actions of several emerging market countries to place [[collective action clause]]s in their bond contracts.

In 2010, the framework was abandoned so the IMF could make loans to Greece in an unsustainable and political situation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://economicsone.com/2014/03/25/why-the-imfs-exceptional-access-framework-is-so-important/ |title=Why the IMF's Exceptional Access Framework is So Important |first1=John |last1=Taylor |date=26 March 2014 |access-date=14 March 2017 |archive-date=6 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706223708/https://economicsone.com/2014/03/25/why-the-imfs-exceptional-access-framework-is-so-important/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=taywsj>{{cite news |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303519404579352883092156074 |title=The Wall Street Journal |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=13 February 2014 |via=online.wsj.com |last1=Taylor |first1=John B. |access-date=2 September 2017 |archive-date=2 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160502110355/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303519404579352883092156074 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The topic of sovereign debt restructuring was taken up by IMF staff in April 2013 for the first time since 2005, in a report entitled "Sovereign Debt Restructuring: Recent Developments and Implications for the Fund's Legal and Policy Framework".<ref name="imf.org"/> The paper, which was discussed by the board on 20 May,<ref name="ReferenceA"/> summarised the recent experiences in Greece, St Kitts and Nevis, Belize, and Jamaica. An explanatory interview with deputy director Hugh Bredenkamp was published a few days later,<ref name="ReferenceB"/> as was a deconstruction by Matina Stevis of ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''.<ref name="blogs.wsj.com"/>

The staff was directed to formulate an updated policy, which was accomplished on 22 May 2014 with a report entitled "The Fund's Lending Framework and Sovereign Debt: Preliminary Considerations", and taken up by the executive board on 13 June.<ref name="efj">[http://armstrongeconomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/THE-FUNDS-LENDING-FRAMEWORK-AND-SOVEREIGN-June-2014.pdf "The Fund's Lending Framework and Sovereign Debt – Preliminary Considerations" 22 May 2014] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714193756/http://armstrongeconomics.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/THE-FUNDS-LENDING-FRAMEWORK-AND-SOVEREIGN-June-2014.pdf|date=14 July 2014}} (also bears date June 2014; team of 20 led by Reza Bakir and supervised by [[Olivier Blanchard]], Sean Hagan, Hugh Bredenkamp, and Peter Dattels)</ref> The staff proposed that "in circumstances where a (Sovereign) member has lost market access and debt is considered sustainable ... the IMF would be able to provide Exceptional Access on the basis of a debt operation that involves an extension of maturities", which was labeled a "reprofiling operation". These reprofiling operations would "generally be less costly to the debtor and creditors—and thus to the system overall—relative to either an upfront debt reduction operation or a bail-out that is followed by debt reduction ... (and) would be envisaged only when both (a) a member has lost market access and (b) debt is assessed to be sustainable, but not with high probability ... Creditors will only agree if they understand that such an amendment is necessary to avoid a worse outcome: namely, a default and/or an operation involving debt reduction ... [[Collective action clause]]s, which now exist in most—but not all—bonds would be relied upon to address collective action problems."<ref name=efj/>

==Personnel==
{{More citations needed section|date=February 2018}}<!--lists of executive and managing directors are not referenced-->

===Board of Governors===
The board of governors consists of one governor and one alternate governor for each member country. Each member country appoints its two governors. The Board normally meets once a year and is responsible for electing or appointing an executive director to the executive board. While the board of governors is officially responsible for approving quota increases, [[special drawing rights|special drawing right]] allocations, the admittance of new members, compulsory withdrawal of members, and amendments to the Articles of Agreement and By-Laws, in practice it has delegated most of its powers to the IMF's executive board.<ref name="Governance Structure">{{cite web |title=Governance Structure |url=http://www.imf.org/external/about/govstruct.htm |work=About the IMF: Governance |access-date=18 March 2012 |archive-date=25 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230625110735/https://www.imf.org/external/about/govstruct.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

The board of governors is advised by the [[International Monetary and Financial Committee]] and the Development Committee. The International Monetary and Financial Committee has 24 members and monitors developments in global liquidity and the transfer of resources to [[developing country|developing countries]].<ref name="IMF Factsheet: Guide to Committees, Groups, and Clubs">{{cite web |title=Factsheet: Guide to Committees, Groups, and Clubs |url=http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/groups.htm |work=About the IMF |publisher=International Monetary Fund |access-date=22 March 2012 |archive-date=20 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130120180110/http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/facts/groups.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> The Development Committee has 25 members and advises on critical development issues and on financial resources required to promote economic development in developing countries.{{citation needed|date=July 2025}}

The board of governors reports directly to the managing director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva.<ref name="IMF Factsheet: Guide to Committees, Groups, and Clubs" />

===Executive Board===
25 Executive Directors make up the executive board. The executive directors represent all 191 member countries in a geographically based roster.<ref>{{cite web |title=IMF Executive Directors and Voting Power |publisher=International Monetary Fund |url=https://www.imf.org/en/About/executive-board/eds-voting-power |access-date=14 August 2025 |archive-date=23 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111123154435/http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/memdir/eds.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> Countries with large economies have their own executive director, but most countries are grouped in constituencies representing four or more countries.<ref name="Governance Structure"/>

Following the ''2008 Amendment on Voice and Participation'' which came into effect in March 2011,<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr1164 |title=Press Release: The IMF's 2008 Quota and Voice Reforms Take Effect |website=IMF |access-date=8 May 2023 |archive-date=8 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508150755/https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr1164 |url-status=live }}</ref> seven countries each appoint an executive director: the United States, Japan, China, Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia. The remaining 18 Directors represent constituencies consisting of 2 to 23 countries. This Board usually meets several times each week.<ref name=pr10477>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr10477 |title=Press Release: IMF Board of Governors Approves Major Quota and Governance Reforms |website=IMF |access-date=8 May 2023 |archive-date=8 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508150756/https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr10477 |url-status=live }}</ref> The board membership and constituency is scheduled for periodic review every eight years.<ref name=pr10418>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr10418 |title=Press Release: IMF Executive Board Approves Major Overhaul of Quotas and Governance |website=IMF |access-date=8 May 2023 |archive-date=8 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508150756/https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr10418 |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{hidden begin|style=border:1px #aaa solid;|titlestyle=background-color:#fffaf0;|ta1=center|title=List of Executive Directors of the IMF, as of August 2025}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Country !! Region !! Number of Member(s) Represented !! Director !! Country with Most Votes
|-
| United States || United States || 1 || Shannon Shuang Ding || United States
|-
| Japan || Japan || 1 || {{ill|Jun Mizuguchi|ja|水口純}} || Japan
|-
| China || China || 1 || Zhengxin Zhang || China
|-
| Belgium || [[Benelux]], [[BSEC]]+[[CEFTA]] (except Albania, Azerbaijan, Greece, Kosovo, Russia, Serbia and Turkey), Andorra, Croatia, Cyprus and Israel || 16 || Jeroen Eddy Ellen Clicq || Netherlands
|-
| Germany || Germany || 1 || Bernd Kaltenhauser || Germany
|-
| Spain || [[Central American Integration System|SICA]] (except Belize, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Panama), Colombia, Mexico and Spain || 7 || {{ill|Xiana Méndez|es|lt=Xiana Margarida Méndez Bértolo}} || Spain
|-
| Malaysia || [[ASEAN]] (except Myanmar (voting power suspended) and Timor-Leste), Fiji, Nepal and Tonga || 12 || Idwan Suhardi Bin Hakim || Indonesia
|-
| Italy || Albania, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal and San Marino || 6 || Riccardo Ercoli || Italy
|-
| France || France || 1 || Arnaud Fernand Buisse || France
|-
| United Kingdom || United Kingdom || 1 || Veda Poon || United Kingdom
|-
| South Korea || [[Pacific Islands Forum|PIF]] (except Fiji, Tonga, and non-IMF members Cook Islands and Niue), Mongolia, Seychelles and South Korea || 15 || Mark Blackmore and Nghi Luu (alternates) || South Korea
|-
| Canada || [[CARICOM]] (except Guyana, Haiti, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago), Canada and Ireland || 12 || Georgina Fitzgerald (alternate) || Canada
|-
| Lithuania || [[Baltic Assembly|Baltic]] and [[Nordic Council|Nordic]] || 8 || {{ill|Vitas Vasiliauskas|lt}} || Sweden
|-
| Turkey || [[Visegrád Group|Visegrád]] (except Poland), Austria, Belarus, Kosovo, Slovenia and Turkey || 8 || Yigit Korkmaz Yasar || Turkey
|-
| Brazil || Other CARICOM members, other SICA members (except Belize), Brazil, Cape Verde, Ecuador and Timor-Leste || 11 || Andre Roncaglia de Carvalho || Brazil
|-
| India || non-ASEAN [[BIMSTEC]] (except Nepal) || 4 || [[Urjit Patel|Urjit R. Patel]] || India
|-
| Poland || [[Economic Cooperation Organization|ECO]] (except Afghanistan (voting power suspended), Iran, Pakistan and Turkey), non-Nordic [[EFTA]], Poland and Serbia || 10 || Patryk Loszewski || Switzerland
|-
| Russia || Russia and Syria || 2 || {{ill|Ksenia Yudaeva|es|Ksenija Judajeva}} || Russia
|-
| Egypt || non-Maghreb [[Arab League]] (except Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Syria, and non-IMF member Palestine) and Maldives || 12 || [[Mohamed Maait|Mohamed Ahmed Mohamed Maait]] || United Arab Emirates
|-
| Pakistan || [[Arab Maghreb Union|Maghreb Union]] (except Mauritania), Ghana, Iran and Pakistan || 7 || Bahador Bijani || Iran
|-
| Saudi Arabia || Saudi Arabia || 1 || Mohamed Ahmed A Alrashed || Saudi Arabia
|-
| Madagascar || [[Southern African Development Community|SADC]] (except DR Congo and Seychelles) and Comoros || 14 || Adriano Ubisse || South Africa
|-
| Argentina || [[Andean Community]] (except Colombia and Ecuador), [[Mercosur]] (except Brazil) and Chile || 6 || Leonardo Madcur || Argentina
|-
| Ivory Coast || [[ECOWAS]] (except Cape Verde and Ghana) and Mauritania || 14 || Ouattara Wautabouna || Nigeria
|-
| Congo, Republic of || [[East African Community|EAC]]+[[ECCAS]]+[[IGAD]] (except Angola, Somalia and Tanzania) || 17 || Regis Olivier N'Sonde || Congo, DR
|}
{{hidden end}}

===Managing Director===
The IMF is led by a managing director, who is head of the [[list of IMF people|staff]] and serves as chairman of the executive board. The managing director is the most powerful position at the IMF.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Copelovitch |first1=Mark |last2=Rickard |first2=Stephanie |date=2021 |title=Partisan Technocrats: How Leaders Matter in International Organizations |journal=Global Studies Quarterly |volume=1 |issue=3 |article-number=ksab021 |doi=10.1093/isagsq/ksab021 |issn=2634-3797 |doi-access=free |url=https://researchonline.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/112215/ }}</ref> Historically, the IMF's managing director has been a European while the president of the [[World Bank]] has been an American. However, this standard is increasingly being questioned and competition for these two posts may soon open up to include other qualified candidates from any part of the world.<ref name= Harding_FT/><ref name="Woods 2003 (92,114)">{{harvnb|Woods|2003|pp=92–114}}.</ref> In August 2019, the International Monetary Fund has removed the age limit which is 65 or over for its managing director position.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-imf-leadership-age-idUSKCN1VB29V |title=IMF executive board recommends scrapping age limit for Georgieva |date=21 August 2019 |publisher=Reuters |access-date=27 August 2019 |archive-date=27 August 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827095002/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-imf-leadership-age-idUSKCN1VB29V |url-status=live }}</ref>

In 2011, the world's largest developing countries, the [[BRICS]] states, issued a statement declaring that the tradition of appointing a European as managing director undermined the legitimacy of the IMF and called for the appointment to be merit-based.<ref name= Harding_FT>{{cite news |last1=Harding |first1=Robin |title=Brics say European IMF claim 'obsolete' |url=https://www.ft.com/content/0ef16b54-862d-11e0-9e2c-00144feabdc0 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0ef16b54-862d-11e0-9e2c-00144feabdc0.html |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription |access-date=17 June 2011 |newspaper=[[Financial Times]] |date=24 May 2011 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Mallaby |first1=Sebastian |title=Can the BRICs Take the IMF? |url=http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67885/sebastian-mallaby/can-the-brics-take-the-imf |magazine=Foreign Affairs |date=9 June 2011 |access-date=21 June 2011 |archive-date=8 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208023742/http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/67885/sebastian-mallaby/can-the-brics-take-the-imf |url-status=live }}</ref>

====List of Managing Directors====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Term
!Dates
!Name
!Citizenship
!Background
|-
| 1
|6 May 1946 – 5 May 1951
|[[Camille Gutt]]
|{{flagcountry|Belgium}}
|Politician, Economist, Lawyer, Economics Minister, Finance Minister
|-
|2
|3 August 1951 – 3 October 1956
|[[Ivar Rooth]]
|{{flagcountry|Sweden}}
|Economist, Lawyer, Central Banker
|-
|3
|21 November 1956 – 5 May 1963
|[[Per Jacobsson]]
|{{flagcountry|Sweden}}
|Economist, Lawyer, Academic, [[League of Nations]], [[Bank for International Settlements|BIS]]
|-
|4
|1 September 1963 – 31 August 1973
|[[Pierre-Paul Schweitzer]]
|{{flagcountry|France}}
|Lawyer, Businessman, Civil Servant, Central Banker
|-
|5
|1 September 1973 – 18 June 1978
|[[Johan Witteveen]]
|{{nowrap|{{flagcountry|Netherlands}}}}
|Politician, Economist, Academic, Finance Minister, Deputy Prime Minister, [[Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis|CPB]]
|-
|6
|18 June 1978 – 15 January 1987
|[[Jacques de Larosière]]
|{{flagcountry|France}}
|Businessman, Civil Servant, Central Banker
|-
|7
|16 January 1987 – 14 February 2000
|[[Michel Camdessus]]
|{{flagcountry|France}}
|Economist, Civil Servant, Central Banker
|-
|8
|1 May 2000 – 4 March 2004
|[[Horst Köhler]]
|{{flagcountry|Germany}}
|Politician, Economist, Civil Servant, [[European Bank for Reconstruction and Development|EBRD]], President
|-
|9
|7 June 2004 – 31 October 2007
|[[Rodrigo Rato]]
|{{flagcountry|Spain}}
|Politician, Businessman, Economics Minister, Finance Minister, Deputy Prime Minister
|-
|10
|1 November 2007 – 18 May 2011
|[[Dominique Strauss-Kahn]]
|{{flagcountry|France}}
|Politician, Economist, Lawyer, Businessman, Economics Minister, Finance Minister
|-
|11
|5 July 2011 – 12 September 2019
|[[Christine Lagarde]]
|{{flagcountry|France}}
|Politician, Lawyer, Economics Minister, Finance Minister
|-
|12
|1 October 2019 – present
|[[Kristalina Georgieva]]
|{{flagcountry|Bulgaria}}
|Politician, Economist, European Commissioner
|}

[[File:Christine Lagarde - Université d'été du MEDEF 2009.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|right|alt=A three-quarter portrait of an elegantly dressed Christine Lagarde, perhaps in her early 60s sitting in a chair behind a microphone. She looks fit and tanned. Her overall mien is alert, pleasant, and intelligent.|On 28 June 2011, [[Christine Lagarde]] was named managing director of the IMF, replacing [[Dominique Strauss-Kahn]]]]

Former managing director [[Dominique Strauss-Kahn]] was arrested in connection [[Dominique Strauss-Kahn sexual assault case|with charges of sexually assaulting]] a New York hotel room attendant and resigned on 18 May. The charges were later dropped.<ref>{{cite web |title=IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn Resigns |url=http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2011/pr11187.htm |work=Press Release No. 11/187 |publisher=International Monetary Fund |access-date=14 June 2011 |archive-date=17 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717163155/http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2011/pr11187.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> On 28 June 2011 [[Christine Lagarde]] was [[International Monetary Fund Managing Director 2011 election|confirmed as managing director of the IMF]] for a five-year term starting on 5 July 2011.<ref name="appointment-IMF">{{cite web |url=http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2011/pr11259.htm |title=IMF Executive Board Selects Christine Lagarde as Managing Director |date=28 June 2011 |work=Press Release |publisher=IMF |access-date=28 June 2011 |archive-date=17 September 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130917013124/http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/pr/2011/pr11259.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Reuters-appointment">{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-imf-idUSTRE75Q60H20110628 |title=France's Lagarde elected new IMF chief |date=28 June 2011 |work=Reuters |access-date=28 June 2011 |archive-date=24 September 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924153847/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/06/28/us-imf-idUSTRE75Q60H20110628 |url-status=live }}</ref> She was re-elected by consensus for a second five-year term, starting 5 July 2016, being the only candidate nominated for the post of managing director.<ref>{{cite news |title=IMF's Lagarde re-elected to second term |url=http://www.dw.com/en/imfs-lagarde-re-elected-to-second-term/a-19061862 |access-date=25 August 2016 |work=Deutsche Welle |agency=Reuters, AFP |date=19 February 2016 |archive-date=11 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180811164953/https://www.dw.com/en/imfs-lagarde-re-elected-to-second-term/a-19061862 |url-status=live }}</ref>

=== First Deputy Managing Director ===
The managing director is assisted by a First Deputy managing director (FDMD) who, by convention, has always been a citizen of the United States.<ref>{{Cite SSRN |last1=Sanford |first1=Jonathan E. |last2=Weiss |first2=Martin A. |date=1 April 2004 |title=How Will the IMF Select its New Managing Director? (2004) |ssrn=540504 }}</ref> Together, the managing director and their First Deputy lead the senior management of the IMF.<ref>{{Citation |url=https://www.imf.org/en/About/senior-officials |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508223807/https://www.imf.org/en/About/senior-officials |archive-date=8 May 2021 |title=IMF Senior Officials |date= }}</ref> Like the managing director, the First Deputy traditionally serves a five-year term.

==== List of First Deputy Managing Directors ====
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!No.
!Dates
!Name
!Citizenship
!Background
|-
|1
|9 February 1949 – 24 January 1952
|Andrew Overby
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
|Banker, Senior U.S. Treasury Official
|-
|2
|16 March 1953 – 31 October 1962
|[[Merle Cochran]]
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
|U.S. Foreign Service Officer
|-
|3
|1 November 1962 – 28 February 1974
|[[Frank Southard]]
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
|Economist, Civil Servant
|-
|4
|1 March 1974 – 31 May 1984
|William Dale
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
|Civil Servant
|-
|5
|1 June 1984 – 31 August 1994
|Richard Erb
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
|Economist, White House Official
|-
|6
|1 September 1994 – 31 August 2001
|[[Stanley Fischer]]
|{{flagcountry|Israel}}<br />{{nowrap|{{flagcountry|United States}}}}
|Economist, Central Banker, Banker
|-
|7
|1 September 2001 – 31 August 2006
|[[Anne Osborn Krueger|Anne Kreuger]]
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
|Economist
|-
|8
|17 July 2006 – 11 November 2011
|[[John Lipsky]]
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
|Economist
|-
|9
|1 September 2011 – 28 February 2020
|[[David Lipton]]
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
|Economist, Senior U.S. Treasury Official
|-
|10
|20 March 2020 – 20 January 2022
|[[Geoffrey Okamoto]]
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
|Senior U.S. Treasury Official, Bank Consultant
|-
|11
|21 January 2022 – 31 August 2025 
|[[Gita Gopinath]]
|{{flagcountry|United States}} 
|Professor at Harvard University's Economics department<br />Chief Economist of IMF
|-
|12
|6 October 2025 – present
|[[Dan Katz]]
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
|Senior U.S. Treasury Official, Banker
|}

=== Chief Economist ===
{{Main|Chief Economist of the International Monetary Fund}}

The chief economist leads the research division of the IMF and is a "senior official" of the IMF.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/About/senior-officials |title=Senior Officials of the International Monetary Fund |publisher=International Monetary Fund |date=2022 |access-date=14 October 2022 |archive-date=8 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210508223807/https://www.imf.org/en/About/senior-officials |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== List of Chief Economists ====
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Term
!Dates
!Name
!Citizenship
|-
|1
|1946–1958
|Edward Bernstein<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/10/us/edward-bernstein-economics-expert-is-dead-at-91.html |title=The New York Times Obituary: Dr. Bernstein went on to be the first director of research at the International Monetary Fund, from 1946 to 1958 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=10 June 1996 |last1=Pace |first1=Eric |access-date=20 September 2020 |archive-date=14 August 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200814075617/https://www.nytimes.com/1996/06/10/us/edward-bernstein-economics-expert-is-dead-at-91.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
|-
|2
|1958–1980
|[[Jacques J. Polak|Jacques Polak]]
|{{flagcountry|Netherlands}}
|-
|3
|1980–1987
|William Hood<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/ar/archive/pdf/ar1985.pdf |title=IMF Annual Report 1985 |website=IMF |access-date=21 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170913001202/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/ar/archive/pdf/ar1985.pdf |archive-date=13 September 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/ar/archive/pdf/ar1980.pdf |title=IMF Annual Report 1980 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912231504/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/ar/archive/pdf/ar1980.pdf |archive-date=12 September 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|{{flagcountry|Canada}}
|-
|4
|1987–1991
|[[Jacob A. Frenkel|Jacob Frenkel]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/030717/rajan.shtml |title=Economist Rajan joins IMF |website=chronicle.uchicago.edu |access-date=21 September 2018 |archive-date=26 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126140639/http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/030717/rajan.shtml |url-status=live }}</ref>
|{{flagcountry|Israel}}
|-
|5
|August 1991 – 29 June 2001
|[[Michael Mussa]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/29/18/03/nb0125 |title=News Brief: Mussa To Step Down as IMF Economic Counsellor |website=IMF |access-date=8 May 2023 |archive-date=8 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508150755/https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/29/18/03/nb0125 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
|-
|6
|August 2001 – September 2003
|[[Kenneth Rogoff]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr0127 |title=Press Release: IMF Managing Director Köhler Proposes Stanford University's Krueger As First Deputy And Names Three Department Heads |website=IMF |access-date=8 May 2023 |archive-date=8 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508150758/https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr0127 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
|-
|7
|September 2003 – January 2007
|[[Raghuram Rajan]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr03100 |title=Press Release: IMF Managing Director Köhler Proposes Raghuram Rajan as Economic Counsellor and Director of the IMF's Research Department |website=IMF |access-date=8 May 2023 |archive-date=13 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190413174951/https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr03100 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|{{flagcountry|India}}
|-
|8
|March 2007 – 31 August 2008
|[[Simon Johnson (economist)|Simon Johnson]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr0734 |title=Press Release: IMF Managing Director Rodrigo de Rato Proposes Simon Johnson as Economic Counsellor and Director of the IMF's Research Department |website=IMF |access-date=8 May 2023 |archive-date=8 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508150754/https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr0734 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|{{nowrap|{{flagcountry|United Kingdom}}}}<br />{{flagcountry|United States}}
|-
|9
|1 September 2008 – 8 September 2015
|[[Olivier Blanchard]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr08122 |title=Press Release: IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn Announces Department Director Appointments |website=IMF |access-date=8 May 2023 |archive-date=8 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508150756/https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr08122 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|{{flagcountry|France}}
|-
|10
|8 September 2015 – 31 December 2018
|[[Maurice Obstfeld]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr15343 |title=Press Release: IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde Appoints Maurice Obstfeld as Economic Counsellor and Director of the IMF's Research Department |website=IMF |access-date=8 May 2023 |archive-date=8 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230508150801/https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr15343 |url-status=live }}</ref>
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
|-
|11
|1 January 2019 – 21 January 2022 
|[[Gita Gopinath]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2018/10/01/pr18386-christine-lagarde-appoints-gita-gopinath-as-imf-chief-economist |title=Christine Lagarde Appoints Gita Gopinath as IMF Chief Economist |website=IMF |access-date=29 March 2019 |archive-date=29 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190329172659/https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2018/10/01/pr18386-christine-lagarde-appoints-gita-gopinath-as-imf-chief-economist |url-status=live }}</ref>
|{{flagcountry|United States}}
|-
|12
|24 January 2022 – present
|[[Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas]]<ref name="IMF-Gourinchas" />
|{{flagcountry|France}}
|}

=== IMF staff ===
IMF staff have considerable autonomy and are known to shape IMF policy. According to Jeffrey Chwieroth, "It is the staff members who conduct the bulk of the IMF's tasks; they formulate policy proposals for consideration by member states, exercise surveillance, carry out loan negotiations and design the programs, and collect and systematize detailed information."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chwieroth |first=Jeffrey M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-DgDKWbm6yIC |title=Capital Ideas: The IMF and the Rise of Financial Liberalization |date=2009 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-3382-5 |pages=10 |access-date=7 May 2023 |archive-date=23 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523024327/https://books.google.com/books?id=-DgDKWbm6yIC |url-status=live }}</ref> Most IMF staff are economists.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chwieroth |first=Jeffrey M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-DgDKWbm6yIC |title=Capital Ideas: The IMF and the Rise of Financial Liberalization |date=2009 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-3382-5 |pages=41 |access-date=7 May 2023 |archive-date=23 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523024327/https://books.google.com/books?id=-DgDKWbm6yIC |url-status=live }}</ref> According to a 1968 study, nearly 60% of staff were from English-speaking developed countries.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Chwieroth |first=Jeffrey M. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-DgDKWbm6yIC |title=Capital Ideas: The IMF and the Rise of Financial Liberalization |date=2009 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-1-4008-3382-5 |pages=48–49 |access-date=7 May 2023 |archive-date=23 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523024327/https://books.google.com/books?id=-DgDKWbm6yIC |url-status=live }}</ref> By 2004, between 40 and 50% of staff were from English-speaking developed countries.<ref name=":2" />

A 1996 study found that 90% of new staff with a PhD obtained them from universities in the United States or Canada.<ref name=":2" /> A 1999 study found that none of the new staff with a PhD obtained their PhD in the Global South.<ref name=":2" />

==Assessment==

===Impact===
According to a 2002 study by [[Randall Stone|Randall W. Stone]], the academic literature on the IMF shows "no consensus on the long-term effects of IMF programs on growth".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Stone |first1=Randall W. |title=Lending Credibility: The International Monetary Fund and the Post-Communist Transition |date=2002 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-09529-5 |pages=43 |doi=10.2307/j.ctt7t6hn |jstor=j.ctt7t6hn }}</ref>

Some research has found that IMF loans can reduce the chance of a future banking crisis,<ref>Papi, Luca, Andrea F. Presbitero, and Alberto Zazzaro. "IMF lending and banking crises." IMF Economic Review 63, no. 3 (2015): 644-691.</ref> while other studies have found that they can increase the risk of political crises.<ref>Dreher, Axel, and Martin Gassebner. "Do IMF and World Bank programs induce government crises? An empirical analysis." International Organization (2012): 329-358.</ref> IMF programs can reduce the effects of a currency crisis.<ref>Dreher, Axel, and Stefanie Walter. "Does the IMF help or hurt? The effect of IMF programs on the likelihood and outcome of currency crises." World Development 38, no. 1 (2010): 1-18.</ref>

Some research has found that IMF programs are less effective in countries which possess a developed-country patron (be it by foreign aid, membership of postcolonial institutions or UN voting patterns), seemingly due to this patron allowing countries to flout IMF program rules as these rules are not consistently enforced.<ref>Stone, Randall W. "The political economy of IMF lending in Africa." American Political Science Review (2004): 577-591.</ref> Some research has found that IMF loans reduce economic growth due to creating an economic [[moral hazard]], reducing public investment, reducing incentives to create a robust domestic policies and reducing private investor confidence.<ref>Butkiewicz, James L., and Halit Yanikkaya. "The effects of IMF and World Bank lending on long-run economic growth: An empirical analysis." World Development 33, no. 3 (2005): 371-391.</ref> Other research has indicated that IMF loans can have a positive impact on economic growth and that their effects are highly nuanced.<ref>Bird, Graham, and Dane Rowlands. "The effect of IMF Programmes on economic growth in low income countries: An empirical analysis." The Journal of Development Studies 53, no. 12 (2017): 2179-2196.</ref>

===IMF and globalization===

[[Globalization]] encompasses three institutions: global financial markets and [[transnational companies]], national governments linked to each other in economic and military alliances led by the United States, and rising "global governments" such as [[World Trade Organization]] (WTO), IMF, and [[World Bank]].<ref name="People Before Profit">{{cite book |last1=Derber |first1=Charles |title=People Before Profit |url=https://archive.org/details/peoplebeforeprof00derb |url-access=registration |year=2002 |publisher=Picador |location=New York |isbn=9780312306700 }}</ref> [[Charles Derber]] argues in his book ''People Before Profit,'' "These interacting institutions create a new global power system where sovereignty is globalized, taking power and constitutional authority away from nations and giving it to global markets and international bodies".<ref name="People Before Profit" />

The establishment of globalised economic institutions has been both a symptom of and a stimulus for globalisation. The development of the World Bank, the IMF, [[International financial institutions#Regional development banks|regional development banks]] such as the [[European Bank for Reconstruction and Development]] (EBRD), and multilateral trade institutions such as the WTO signals a move away from the dominance of the state as the primary actor analysed in international affairs. Globalization has thus been transformative in terms of limiting of [[state sovereignty]] over the economy.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McCorquodale |first1=Robert |author2=Richard Fairbrother |title=Globalization and Human Rights |journal=Human Rights Quarterly |date=August 1999 |volume=21 |issue=3 |pages=735–766 |doi=10.1353/hrq.1999.0041 |s2cid=144228739 }}</ref>

===International central bank digital currency===
In April 2023, the IMF launched their international [[central bank digital currency]] through their [[Digital Currency Monetary Authority]], it will be called the [[Universal Monetary Unit]], or Units for [[shorthand]]. The [[Windows-1252|ANSI]] character will be [[Ü]] and will be used to facilitate [[Bank for International Settlements|international banking]] and [[international trade]] between countries and [[currencies]]. It will help facilitate [[SWIFT]] transactions on cross border transactions at [[wholesale]] [[Foreign exchange market|FX]] rates instantaneously with real-time settlements.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/digital-currency-monetary-authority-dcma-132700400.html |title=The Digital Currency Monetary Authority (DCMA) Launches an International Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) |website=Yahoo Finance |date=10 April 2023 |access-date=16 April 2023 |archive-date=16 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416083055/https://finance.yahoo.com/news/digital-currency-monetary-authority-dcma-132700400.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fintechfutures.com/2023/04/digital-currency-monetary-authority-launches-international-cbdc/ |title=Digital Currency Monetary Authority launches international CBDC |work=FinTech Futures |date=13 April 2023 |access-date=16 April 2023 |archive-date=16 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230416083056/https://www.fintechfutures.com/2023/04/digital-currency-monetary-authority-launches-international-cbdc/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In June, it announced it was working on a platform for central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) that would enable transactions between nations. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said that if central banks did not agree on a common platform, [[cryptocurrency]] would fill the resulting vacuum.<ref>{{cite news |last=Eljechtimi |first=Ahmed |date=19 June 2023 |title=IMF working on global central bank digital currency platform |publisher=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/imf-working-global-central-bank-digital-currency-platform-2023-06-19/ |access-date=23 June 2023 |archive-date=22 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230622082204/https://www.reuters.com/markets/imf-working-global-central-bank-digital-currency-platform-2023-06-19/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Criticisms and controversy==

=== General ===
[[File:IMF demonstration (10).png|thumb|[[Anarchist]] protest against the IMF and corporate bailout in April 2009]]
Overseas Development Institute (ODI) research undertaken in 1980 included criticisms of the IMF which support the analysis that it is a pillar of what activist Titus Alexander calls [[global apartheid]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Alexander |first1=Titus |title=Unravelling Global Apartheid: an overview of world politics |year=1996 |publisher=Polity press |pages=133 }}</ref>
* Developed countries were seen to have a more dominant role and control over [[Developing country|less developed countries]] (LDCs).
* The Fund worked on the incorrect assumption that all payments [[disequilibria]] were caused domestically. The [[Group of 24]] (G-24), on behalf of LDC members and the [[United Nations Conference on Trade and Development]] (UNCTAD) complained that the IMF did not distinguish sufficiently between disequilibria with predominantly external as opposed to internal causes. This criticism was voiced in the aftermath of the [[1973 oil crisis]]. Then LDCs found themselves with payment deficits due to adverse changes in their [[terms of trade]], with the Fund prescribing stabilization programmes similar to those suggested for deficits caused by government over-spending. Faced with long-term, externally generated disequilibria, the G-24 argued for more time for LDCs to adjust their economies.
* Some IMF policies may be anti-developmental; the report said that [[deflationary]] effects of IMF programmes quickly led to losses of output and employment in economies where incomes were low and unemployment was high. Moreover, the burden of the deflation is disproportionately borne by the poor.
* The IMF's initial policies were based in theory and influenced by differing opinions and departmental rivalries. Critics suggest that its intentions to implement these policies in countries with widely varying economic circumstances were misinformed and lacked economic rationale.

ODI conclusions were that the IMF's very nature of promoting market-oriented approaches attracted unavoidable criticism. On the other hand, the IMF could serve as a scapegoat while allowing governments to blame international bankers. The ODI conceded that the IMF was insensitive to political aspirations of LDCs while its policy conditions were inflexible.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The IMF and the Third World |url=http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=5379&title=imf-ldcs |journal=ODI Briefing Paper |date=October 1980 |publisher=Overseas Development Institute |access-date=6 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107124156/http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=5379&title=imf-ldcs |archive-date=7 January 2012 }}</ref>

Argentina, which had been considered by the IMF to be a model country in its compliance to policy proposals by the [[Bretton Woods system|Bretton Woods]] institutions, experienced a catastrophic economic crisis in 2001,<ref>''Memoria del Saqueo'', [[Fernando Ezequiel Solanas]], documentary film, 2003 (Language: Spanish; Subtitles: English) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH6_i8zuffs&feature=PlayList&p=8B60CF40AEF6BBDA&index=0&playnext=1 YouTube.com] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328152628/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH6_i8zuffs&feature=PlayList&p=8B60CF40AEF6BBDA&index=0&playnext=1 |date=28 March 2014 }}</ref> which some believe to have been caused by IMF-induced budget restrictions—which undercut the government's ability to sustain national infrastructure even in crucial areas such as health, education, and security—and [[privatisation]] of strategically vital national [[natural resources|resources]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/twr137b.htm |title=Economic debacle in Argentina: The IMF strikes again |publisher=Twnside.org.sg |access-date=30 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100303033200/http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/twr137b.htm |archive-date=3 March 2010 }}</ref> Others attribute the crisis to Argentina's misdesigned [[fiscal federalism]], which caused subnational spending to increase rapidly.<ref>Stephen Webb, "Argentina: Hardening the Provincial Budget Constraint", in Rodden, Eskeland, and Litvack (eds.), ''Fiscal Decentralization and the Challenge of Hard Budget Constraints'' (Cambridge, Massachusetts: [[MIT Press]], 2003).</ref> The crisis added to widespread hatred of this institution in Argentina and other South American countries, with many blaming the IMF for the region's economic problems. The post-2000s trend toward moderate left-wing governments in the region and a growing concern with the development of a regional economic policy largely independent of big business pressures has been ascribed to this crisis.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

In 2001, the Independent Evaluation Office, an autonomous body, was established to conduct independent evaluations of policies and activities of the International Monetary Fund.<ref>{{cite web |title=Origins |url=https://ieo.imf.org/en/Team/Origins |website=Independent Evaluation Office of the International Monetary Fund |access-date=6 August 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Guide to the IMF's Independent Evaluation Office |url=https://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/2015/02/guide-imfs-independent-evaluation-office/ |website=Bretton Woods Project |access-date=6 August 2025 |date=2 February 2015}}</ref>

In 2006, a senior [[ActionAid]] policy analyst Akanksha Marphatia stated that IMF policies in Africa undermine any possibility of meeting the [[Millennium Development Goals|Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)]] due to imposed restrictions that prevent spending on important sectors, such as education and health.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scitrading.pro/post-49677/ |title=Ultimate Profit Solution Review by Toshko Raychev |publisher=SCI Trading |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124043034/http://www.scitrading.pro/post-49677/ |archive-date=24 November 2016 }}</ref>

In an interview (2008-05-19), the former Romanian Prime Minister [[Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu]] claimed that "Since 2005, IMF is constantly making mistakes when it appreciates the country's economic performances".<ref name=int>{{cite web |url=http://www.mediafax.ro/economic/tariceanu-fmi-a-facut-constant-greseli-de-apreciere-a-economiei-romanesti.html?1686;2645329 |title=Tăriceanu: FMI a făcut constant greșeli de apreciere a economiei românești – Mediafax |publisher=Mediafax.ro |access-date=30 May 2010 |archive-date=28 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228224458/http://www.mediafax.ro/economic/tariceanu-fmi-a-facut-constant-greseli-de-apreciere-a-economiei-romanesti.html?1686;2645329 }}</ref> Former Tanzanian President [[Julius Nyerere]], who claimed that debt-ridden African states were ceding sovereignty to the IMF and the World Bank, famously asked, "Who elected the IMF to be the ministry of finance for every country in the world?"<ref name="Mwakikagile2006">{{cite book |title=Africa is in a Mess: What Went Wrong and what Should be Done |url={{Google books|f1NvA-BFmC8C |page=PA27 |keywords= |text= |plainurl=yes}} |year=2006 |author=Godfrey Mwakikagile |publisher=New Africa Press |isbn=978-0-9802534-7-4 |pages=27– }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.houseofknowledge.org.uk/site/documents/neoGarveyismCorner/Nyerere,%20Reflections--Dec.%201997.pdf |title=Reflections on Leadership in Africa – Forty Years After Independence |website=houseofknowledge.org.uk |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140515014411/http://www.houseofknowledge.org.uk/site/documents/neoGarveyismCorner/Nyerere,%20Reflections--Dec.%201997.pdf |archive-date=15 May 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Former chief economist of IMF and former [[Reserve Bank of India]] (RBI) Governor [[Raghuram Rajan]] who predicted the [[2008 financial crisis]] criticised the IMF for remaining a sideline player to the developed world. He criticised the IMF for praising the monetary policies of the US, which he believed were wreaking havoc in emerging markets.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.financialexpress.com/article/industry/banking-finance/rbi-guv-raghuram-rajan-slams-imf-for-applauding-easy-money-policies/153617/ |title=RBI Guv Raghuram Rajan blasts IMF for being soft on easy money policies of West |date=19 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022162913/http://www.financialexpress.com/article/industry/banking-finance/rbi-guv-raghuram-rajan-slams-imf-for-applauding-easy-money-policies/153617/ |archive-date=22 October 2015 }}</ref> He had been critical of "ultra-loose money policies" of some unnamed countries.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://in.reuters.com/article/india-rbi-rajan-imf-idINKCN0SD0CL20151019 |title=RBI chief Rajan urges IMF to act against 'extreme' policies |first1=Suvashree |last1=Choudhury |newspaper=Reuters |date=19 October 2015 |access-date=6 July 2021 |archive-date=25 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425115413/https://in.reuters.com/article/india-rbi-rajan-imf-idINKCN0SD0CL20151019 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.businesstoday.in/money/banking/rbi-governor-raghuram-rajan-urges-imf-to-act-against-extreme-policies/story/225016.html |title=RBI's Raghuram Rajan urges IMF to act against 'extreme' policies |date=19 October 2015 |access-date=2 November 2015 |archive-date=2 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151102223713/http://www.businesstoday.in/money/banking/rbi-governor-raghuram-rajan-urges-imf-to-act-against-extreme-policies/story/225016.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Countries such as [[Zambia]] have not received proper aid with long-lasting effects, leading to concern from economists. Since 2005, Zambia (as well as 29 other African countries) did receive debt write-offs, which helped with the country's medical and education funds. However, Zambia returned to a debt of over half its GDP in less than a decade. American economist [[William Easterly]], sceptical of the IMF's methods, had initially warned that "debt relief would simply encourage more reckless borrowing by crooked governments unless it was accompanied by reforms to speed up economic growth and improve governance", according to ''[[The Economist]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/09/15/zambias-looming-debt-crisis-is-a-warning-for-the-rest-of-africa |title=Zambia's looming debt crisis is a warning for the rest of Africa |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=19 September 2018 |archive-date=18 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918163443/https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/09/15/zambias-looming-debt-crisis-is-a-warning-for-the-rest-of-africa |url-status=live }}</ref>

Feminist and postcolonial scholars have critiqued the IMF's structural adjustment and austerity programs for reinforcing neocolonial economic dependencies in postcolonial states. These policy conditions often reduce public spending on health, education, and social services, disproportionately affecting women and marginalized communities, while prioritizing debt repayment and market liberalization over social welfare and national economic sovereignty.<ref>Sparr, Pamela (ed.) (1994). ''Mortgaging Women’s Lives: Feminist Critiques of Structural Adjustment''. London: Zed Books.</ref><ref>Mohanty, Chandra Talpade (2003). ''Feminism Without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity''. Durham: Duke University Press.</ref>

===Conditionality===
{{See also|Debt-trap diplomacy|Neocolonialism}}
The IMF has been criticised for being "out of touch" with local economic conditions, cultures, and environments in the countries they are requiring policy reform.<ref name="Jensen 2004, April, Issue 48" /> The economic advice the IMF gives might not always take into consideration the difference between what spending means on paper and how it is felt by citizens.<ref name="The End of Poverty">{{cite book |last1=Sachs |first1=Jeffrey |title=The End of Poverty |url=https://archive.org/details/endofpovertyecon00sach |url-access=registration |year=2005 |publisher=The Penguin Press |location=New York |isbn=9781594200458 }}</ref> Countries charge that with excessive conditionality, they do not "own" the programmes and the links are broken between a recipient country's people, its government, and the goals being pursued by the IMF.<ref>{{Citation |last1=Boughton |first1=James M. |chapter=Whose programme is it? Policy ownership and conditional lending |pages=[https://archive.org/details/imfitscriticsref0000unse/page/225 225–253] |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9780511493362 |last2=Mourmouras |first2=Alex |doi=10.1017/cbo9780511493362.010 |title=The IMF and its Critics |year=2004 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/imfitscriticsref0000unse/page/225 }}</ref>

[[Jeffrey Sachs]] argues that the IMF's "usual prescription is 'budgetary belt tightening to countries who are much too poor to own belts{{' "}}.<ref name="The End of Poverty" /> Sachs wrote that the IMF's role as a generalist institution specialising in macroeconomic issues needs reform. [[Conditionality]] has also been criticised because a country can pledge collateral of "acceptable assets" to obtain waivers—if one assumes that all countries are able to provide "acceptable collateral".<ref name="IMF Conditionality and Country Ownership of Programs" />

One view is that conditionality undermines domestic political institutions.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stiglitz |first1=Joseph E. |title=Making Globalization Work |year=2006 |publisher=Allen Lane: an imprint of the Penguin Group |location=Great Britain }}</ref> The recipient governments are sacrificing policy autonomy in exchange for funds, which can lead to public resentment of the local leadership for accepting and enforcing the IMF conditions. Political instability can result from more leadership turnover as political leaders are replaced in electoral backlashes.<ref name="Jensen 2004, April, Issue 48" /> IMF conditions are often criticised for reducing government services, thus increasing unemployment.<ref name="chorev"/>

Another criticism is that IMF policies are only designed to address poor governance, excessive government spending, excessive government intervention in markets, and too much state ownership.<ref name="The End of Poverty" /> This assumes that this narrow range of issues represents the only possible problems; everything is standardised and differing contexts are ignored.<ref name="The End of Poverty" /> A country may also be compelled to accept conditions it would not normally accept had they not been in a financial crisis in need of assistance.<ref name="An Analysis of IMF Conditionality"/>

On top of that, regardless of what methodologies and data sets used, it comes to same the conclusion of exacerbating income inequality. With [[Gini coefficient]], it became clear that countries with IMF policies face increased income inequality.<ref name="The distributional effects of IMF program">{{cite book |last1=Garuda |first1=Gopal |title=The distributional effects of IMF program |year=1998 |publisher=The Harvard university |location=Cambridge }}</ref>

It is claimed that [[conditionalities]] hinder social stability and hence inhibit the stated goals of the IMF, while Structural Adjustment Programmes lead to an increase in poverty in recipient countries.<ref name=Hertz/> The IMF sometimes advocates "[[Austerity|austerity programmes]]", cutting public spending and increasing taxes even when the economy is weak, to bring budgets closer to a balance, thus reducing [[budget deficit]]s. Countries are often advised to lower their corporate tax rate. In ''[[Globalization and Its Discontents]]'', [[Joseph E. Stiglitz]], former chief economist and senior vice-president at the [[World Bank]], criticises these policies.<ref name=Stiglitz>Stiglitz, Joseph. ''Globalization and its Discontents''. New York: WW Norton & Company, 2002.</ref> He argues that by converting to a more [[monetarist]] approach, the purpose of the fund is no longer valid, as it was designed to provide funds for countries to carry out [[Keynesian]] reflations, and that the IMF "was not participating in a conspiracy, but it was reflecting the interests and ideology of the Western financial community."<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Benjamin M. Friedman |url=http://www.nybooks.com/articles/15630 |title=Globalization: Stiglitz's Case |magazine=The New York Review of Books |date=15 August 2002 |access-date=30 May 2010 |archive-date=13 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213160910/http://www.nybooks.com/articles/15630 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Stiglitz concludes, "Modern high-tech warfare is designed to remove physical contact: dropping bombs from 50,000 feet ensures that one does not 'feel' what one does. Modern economic management is similar: from one's luxury hotel, one can callously impose policies about which one would think twice if one knew the people whose lives one was destroying."<ref name=Stiglitz/>

The researchers [[Éric Toussaint|Eric Toussaint]] and Damien Millet argue that the IMF's policies amount to a new form of colonisation that does not need a military presence: 
{{blockquote|Following the exigencies of the governments of the richest companies, the IMF, permitted countries in crisis to borrow in order to avoid default on their repayments. Caught in the debt's downward spiral, developing countries soon had no other recourse than to take on new debt in order to repay the old debt. Before providing them with new loans, at higher interest rates, future leaders asked the IMF, to intervene with the guarantee of ulterior reimbursement, asking for a signed agreement with the said countries. The IMF thus agreed to restart the flow of the 'finance pump' on condition that the concerned countries first use this money to reimburse banks and other private lenders, while restructuring their economy at the IMF's discretion: these were the famous conditionalities, detailed in the Structural Adjustment Programmes. The IMF and its ultra-liberal experts took control of the borrowing countries' economic policies. A new form of colonisation was thus instituted. It was not even necessary to establish an administrative or military presence; the debt alone maintained this new form of submission.<ref>{{cite book |author1=Toussaint |author2=Millet |title=Debt, The IMF, and The world Bank |year=2010 |publisher=Monthly Review Press U.S. |pages=83 }}</ref>}}

International politics play an important role in IMF decision making. The clout of member states is roughly proportional to its contribution to IMF finances. The United States has the greatest number of votes and therefore wields the most influence. Domestic politics often come into play, with politicians in developing countries using conditionality to gain leverage over the opposition to influence policy.<ref name="IMF: Politics of Conditional Lending">{{cite book |last1=Vreeland |first1=James |title=The International Monetary Fund (IMF): Politics of Conditional Lending |year=2007 |publisher=Taylor & Francis Books UK |location=UK }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author1=Julien Reynaud |author2=Julien Vauday |date=November 2008 |title=IMF lending and geopolitics |url=https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/scpwps/ecbwp965.pdf |website=ECB |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090608225536/https://www.ecb.europa.eu/pub/pdf/scpwps/ecbwp965.pdf |archive-date=8 June 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Academic Jeremy Garlick cites IMF loans to South Korea during the [[1997 Asian financial crisis]] as widely perceived by the South Korean public as a debt-trap.<ref name=":13">{{Cite book |last=Garlick |first=Jeremy |title=Advantage China: Agent of Change in an Era of Global Disruption |date=2024 |publisher=[[Bloomsbury Academic]] |isbn=978-1-350-25231-8 }}</ref>{{Rp|page=89}} Garlick writes that the public was generally bitter about submitting to the conditions imposed by the IMF, which required South Korea to radically restructure its economy and consult with the IMF before making economic decisions until the debt was repaid.<ref name=":13" />{{Rp|page=89}}

In 2016, the IMF's research department published a report titled "Neoliberalism: Oversold?" which, while praising some aspects of the "[[neoliberal]] agenda", claims that the organisation has been "overselling" fiscal [[austerity]] policies and financial deregulation, which they claim has exacerbated both financial crises and [[economic inequality]] around the world.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rowden |first=Rick |date=6 July 2016 |title=The IMF Confronts Its N-Word |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/07/06/the-imf-confronts-its-n-word-neoliberalism/ |access-date=22 October 2016 |website=Foreign Policy |archive-date=4 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201104040658/https://foreignpolicy.com/2016/07/06/the-imf-confronts-its-n-word-neoliberalism/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[https://time.com/4356816/neoliberalism-imf-globalization/ Globalization's True Believers Are Having Second Thoughts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617175511/http://time.com/4356816/neoliberalism-imf-globalization/ |date=17 June 2016 }} . ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', 3 June 2016</ref><ref>[http://www.businessinsider.com/imf-neoliberalism-warnings-2016-5 IMF: The last generation of economic policies may have been a complete failure] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007023122/https://www.businessinsider.com/imf-neoliberalism-warnings-2016-5 |date=7 October 2020 }}. ''Business Insider'', May 2016.</ref>

In 2020 and 2021, Oxfam criticized the IMF for forcing tough austerity measures on many low income countries during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite forcing cuts to healthcare spending, would hamper the recipient's response to the pandemic.<ref>{{cite web |date=19 April 2022 |title=IMF must abandon demands for austerity as cost-of-living crisis drives up hunger and poverty worldwide |url=https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/imf-must-abandon-demands-austerity-cost-living-crisis-drives-hunger-and-poverty |access-date=13 October 2023 |website=Oxfam International |archive-date=15 October 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231015084633/https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/imf-must-abandon-demands-austerity-cost-living-crisis-drives-hunger-and-poverty |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=12 October 2020 |title=Over 80 per cent of IMF Covid-19 loans will push austerity on poor countries - World {{!}} ReliefWeb |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/world/over-80-cent-imf-covid-19-loans-will-push-austerity-poor-countries |access-date=13 October 2023 |website=reliefweb.int |archive-date=15 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015020304/https://reliefweb.int/report/world/over-80-cent-imf-covid-19-loans-will-push-austerity-poor-countries |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Support of dictatorships===
The role of the [[Bretton Woods system|Bretton Woods institutions]] has been controversial since the late [[Cold War]], because of claims that the IMF policy makers supported [[military dictatorship]]s friendly to American and European corporations, but also other [[anti-communist]] and [[communist]] regimes, such as the [[Socialist Republic of Romania]]. An example of IMF's support for a dictatorship was its ongoing support for [[Mobutu]]'s rule in [[Zaire]], although its own envoy Erwin Blumenthal provided a sobering report about the entrenched corruption and embezzlement and the inability of the country to pay back any loans.<ref name="dvr">{{cite book |author=David van Reybrouck |title=Congo: The Epic History of a People |publisher=HarperCollins |year=2012 |page=374ff |isbn=978-0-06-220011-2 |title-link=Congo: The Epic History of a People |author-link=David van Reybrouck }}</ref> In 2021, the IMF approved a US$1 billion loan to the [[autocratic]] Uganda despite protests from Ugandans in Washington, London and South Africa.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2021/06/28/pr21197-uganda-imf-executive-board-approves-ecf-arrangement-for-uganda |title=IMF Executive Board Approves US billion ECF Arrangement for Uganda |website=IMF |access-date=29 June 2021 |archive-date=29 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629114647/https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2021/06/28/pr21197-uganda-imf-executive-board-approves-ecf-arrangement-for-uganda |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://diaspora.nup-uganda.com/?p=275 |title=IMF loan to Uganda should be cancelled – NUP Uganda Diaspora |date=9 June 2021 |access-date=29 June 2021 |archive-date=29 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210629114650/https://diaspora.nup-uganda.com/?p=275 |url-status=live }}</ref> Critics also claim that the IMF is generally apathetic or hostile to democracy, human rights, and [[labour rights]]. The controversy has helped spark the [[anti-globalization movement]].

Arguments in favour of the IMF supporting dictatorships is the claim that [[economic stability]] is a precursor to democracy. A 2017 study found no evidence of IMF lending programs undermining democracy in borrowing countries,<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last1=Nelson |first1=Stephen C. |last2=Wallace |first2=Geoffrey P.R. |date=1 December 2017 |title=Are IMF lending programs good or bad for democracy? |journal=The Review of International Organizations |volume=12 |issue=4 |pages=523–558 |doi=10.1007/s11558-016-9250-3 |s2cid=85506864 |issn=1559-7431 }}</ref> it found "evidence for modest but definitively positive conditional differences in the democracy scores of participating and non-participating countries".<ref name=":0" />

A 2020 study found the reverse causality with [[democracy]] as a precursor to economic stability.<ref name="j902">{{cite journal |last=Knutsen |first=Carl Henrik |title=The Business Case for Democracy |journal=SSRN Electronic Journal |publisher=Elsevier BV |year=2020 |issn=1556-5068 |doi=10.2139/ssrn.3710437 |page= |doi-access=free }}</ref> Critics highlight various examples in which democratised countries fell after receiving IMF loans.<ref name="cadtm">{{cite news |title=IMF support to dictatorships |publisher=World Bank |url=http://www.cadtm.org/spip.php?article809 |work=[[Committee for the Abolition of the Third World Debt]] |access-date=21 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012105817/http://www.cadtm.org/spip.php?article809 |archive-date=12 October 2007 }}</ref>

Party-based autocracies and democracies can face similar incentives when considering agreements with IMF, in contrast to personalist and military regimes.<ref name="q511">{{cite journal |last1=Fails |first1=Matthew D. |last2=Woo |first2=Byungwon |title=Unpacking Autocracy: Political Regimes and IMF Program Participation |journal=International Interactions |volume=41 |issue=1 |date=2015 |issn=0305-0629 |doi=10.1080/03050629.2015.969370 |pages=110–132 }}</ref>

===Impact on access to food===
A number of [[civil society]] organisations<ref>Oxfam, [https://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/policy/debt_aid/downloads/bp29_death.pdf Death on the Doorstep of the Summit] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107192935/https://www.oxfam.org.uk/resources/policy/debt_aid/downloads/bp29_death.pdf |date=7 January 2012 }}, August 2002.</ref> have criticised the IMF's policies for their impact on access to food, particularly in developing countries. In October 2008, former United States president [[Bill Clinton]] delivered a speech to the United Nations on [[World Food Day]], criticising the World Bank and IMF for their policies on food and agriculture:

{{blockquote|We need the World Bank, the IMF, all the big foundations, and all the governments to admit that, for 30 years, we all blew it, including me when I was president. We were wrong to believe that food was like some other product in international trade, and we all have to go back to a more responsible and [[sustainable agriculture|sustainable form of agriculture]]. |Former U.S. president Bill Clinton|Speech at United Nations World Food Day, October 16, 2008<ref>Bill Clinton, [http://www.clintonfoundation.org/news/news-media/speech-united-nations-world-food-day "Speech: United Nations World Food Day"] {{webarchive |url=https://archive.today/20110605130326/http://www.clintonfoundation.org/news/news-media/speech-united-nations-world-food-day |date=5 June 2011 }}, 13 October 2008</ref>}}

The [[FPIF]] remarked that there is a recurring pattern: "the destabilization of peasant producers by a one-two punch of IMF-[[World Bank]] structural adjustment programs that gutted government investment in the countryside followed by the massive influx of subsidized U.S. and European Union agricultural imports after the [[WTO]]'s Agreement on Agriculture pried open markets."<ref name="Foreign Policy In Focus 2008">{{cite web |title=Destroying African Agriculture |website=Foreign Policy In Focus |date=3 June 2008 |url=https://fpif.org/destroying_african_agriculture/ |access-date=22 August 2018 |quote=At the time of decolonization in the 1960s, Africa was not just self-sufficient in food but was actually a net food exporter, its exports averaging 1.3 million tons a year between 1966-70. Today, the continent imports 25% of its food, with almost every country being a net food importer. |archive-date=22 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822145829/https://fpif.org/destroying_african_agriculture/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Impact on public health===
The structural adjustments programs (SAPs) demanded by IMF conditionality contribute to the weakening of public health services in a number of ways. Cuts in funding to public health services prompted by IMF SAPs contribute to poorer working conditions in the sector, causing repercussions for health service quality and availability.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Daoud | first1=Adel | last2=Reinsberg | first2=Bernhard | title=Structural adjustment, state capacity and child health: Evidence from IMF programmes | journal=International Journal of Epidemiology | date=2019 | volume=48 | issue=2 | pages=445–454 | doi=10.1093/ije/dyy251 | pmid=30521004 | url=https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyy251 }}</ref> This has been shown to negatively impact vaccination rates, increase exposure to conditions with risk-factors like disability and death, and higher prevalence of tuberculosis.<ref>https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyy251; https://www.jstor.org/stable/44072732; https://www.jstor.org/stable/41739549</ref>

A 2009 study concluded that the strict conditions resulted in thousands of deaths in Eastern Europe by [[tuberculosis]] as [[public health care]] had to be weakened. In the 21 countries to which the IMF had given loans, [[tuberculosis]] deaths rose by 16.6%.<ref>[http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0050143&ct=1 International Monetary Fund Programs and Tuberculosis Outcomes in Post-Communist Countries] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080920071410/http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.0050143&ct=1 |date=20 September 2008 }} [[PLoS Medicine]]. The study has not been independently verified, nor have the authors published parts of their supporting data. Retrieved 29 July 2008.</ref> A 2017 systematic review on studies conducted on the impact that [[Structural adjustment|structural adjustment programs]] have on child and maternal health found that these programs have a detrimental effect on maternal and child health among other adverse effects.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stubbs |first=Thomas |date=December 2017 |title=Structural adjustment programmes adversely affect vulnerable populations: A systematic-narrative review of their effect on child and maternal health |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318335496 |website=Researchgate }}</ref>

Structural adjustment programs are considered a form of neo-colonialism by some academics due to their intensification of healthcare access inequality, and their promotion of external intervention and aid to meet health needs in developing countries.<ref>{{cite book | last1=Kehinde | first1=Olumuyiwa A. | last2=Kehinde | first2=Taiwo Kemisola | title=Socioeconomics, Philosophy, and Deneocoloniality | chapter=Neocolonialism and Public Health in Africa | date=2025 | pages=123–144 | doi=10.1007/978-3-031-94374-4_7 | isbn=978-3-031-94373-7 | chapter-url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-94374-4_7 }}</ref>

===Scandals===

Managing Director Lagarde (2011–2019) was convicted of giving preferential treatment to businessman-turned-politician [[Bernard Tapie]] as he pursued a legal challenge against the French government. At the time, Lagarde was the French economic minister.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://money.cnn.com/2016/12/19/news/christine-lagarde-trial-guilty-verdict/index.html |title=Christine Lagarde, IMF chief, guilty of negligence |first1=Alanna |last1=Petroff |work=CNNMoney |date=19 December 2016 |access-date=3 August 2020 |archive-date=8 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108110312/https://money.cnn.com/2016/12/19/news/christine-lagarde-trial-guilty-verdict/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Within hours of her conviction, in which she escaped any punishment, the fund's 24-member executive board put to rest any speculation that she might have to resign, praising her "outstanding leadership" and the "wide respect" she commands around the world.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-20/imf-doubles-down-on-lagarde-as-trump-aims-to-upend-world-order |title=IMF Bets on Lagarde as Trump Aims to Upend World Order |date=20 December 2016 |newspaper=bloomberg.com |access-date=21 December 2016 |archive-date=21 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221080317/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-12-20/imf-doubles-down-on-lagarde-as-trump-aims-to-upend-world-order |url-status=live }}</ref>

Former IMF Managing Director [[Rodrigo Rato]] was arrested in 2015 for alleged [[fraud]], [[embezzlement]] and [[money laundering]].<ref>[http://www.rtve.es/noticias/20150416/registro-domicilio-rodrigo-rato/1131140.shtml «Rato, detenido en el registro de su vivienda en Madrid por supuestos delitos de fraude y blanqueo.»] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416181157/http://www.rtve.es/noticias/20150416/registro-domicilio-rodrigo-rato/1131140.shtml |date=16 April 2015 }} [[RTVE]]. Retrieved 16 April 2015.</ref><ref name="BBC News 16 April 2015">{{cite web |title=Spanish police search home and off ex-IMF chief Rodrigo Rato |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-32335842 |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=16 April 2015 |website=BBC News |access-date=16 April 2015 |archive-date=16 April 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416221859/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-32335842 |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2017, the [[Audiencia Nacional]] found Rato guilty of embezzlement and sentenced him to {{frac|4|1|2}} years' imprisonment.<ref>{{cite news |last=Jones |first=Sam |title=Former IMF chief gets four years in jail for embezzlement in Spain |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/23/former-imf-chief-gets-four-years-jail-after-corruption-trial-in-spain |access-date=24 February 2017 |work=The Guardian |date=23 January 2017 |archive-date=12 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201112015521/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/feb/23/former-imf-chief-gets-four-years-jail-after-corruption-trial-in-spain |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2018, the sentence was confirmed by the [[Supreme Court of Spain]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.eldiario.es/politica/Tarjetas-Rodrigo-Rato-Tribunal-Supremo_0_818918296.html |title=El Supremo confirma la condena de 4 años y seis meses de cárcel para Rodrigo Rato por las tarjetas black |work=eldiario.es |access-date=3 October 2018 |language=es |archive-date=13 March 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200313202500/https://www.eldiario.es/politica/Tarjetas-Rodrigo-Rato-Tribunal-Supremo_0_818918296.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Reform===

====Function and policies====
The IMF is only one of many [[international organisations]], and it is a generalist institution that deals only with macroeconomic issues; its core areas of concern in [[developing countries]] are very narrow. One proposed reform is a movement towards close partnership with other specialist agencies such as [[UNICEF]], the [[Food and Agriculture Organization]] (FAO), and the [[United Nations Development Programme]] (UNDP).<ref name="The End of Poverty" />

[[Jeffrey Sachs]] argues in ''[[The End of Poverty]]'' that the IMF and the World Bank have "the brightest economists and the lead in advising poor countries on how to break out of poverty, but the problem is development economics".<ref name="The End of Poverty" /> [[Development economics]] needs the reform, not the IMF. He also notes that IMF loan conditions should be paired with other reforms—e.g., trade reform in [[developed nations]], [[debt cancellation]], and increased financial assistance for investments in [[Infrastructure|basic infrastructure]].<ref name="The End of Poverty" /> IMF loan conditions cannot stand alone and produce change; they need to be partnered with other reforms or other conditions as applicable.<ref name="Lipscy 2015" />

====U.S. influence and voting reform====
The scholarly consensus is that IMF decision-making is not simply technocratic, but also guided by political and economic concerns.<ref name="Breen 2013 13">{{Harvnb|Breen|2013|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=9VmYAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA13 13]}}.</ref> The United States is the IMF's most powerful member, and its influence reaches even into decision-making concerning individual loan agreements.<ref name="Oatley&Yackee 2004">{{harvnb|Oatley|Yackee|2004}}.</ref> The U.S. has historically been openly opposed to losing what Treasury Secretary [[Jacob Lew]] described in 2015 as its "leadership role" at the IMF, and the U.S.' "ability to shape international norms and practices".<ref name="Donnan Dyer FT">{{cite web |last1=Donnan |first1=Shawn |last2=Dyer |first2=Geoff |date=17 March 2015 |title=US warns of loss of influence over China bank |url=https://www.ft.com/content/71e33aea-ccaf-11e4-b94f-00144feab7de |access-date=2 July 2015 |website=ft.com |archive-date=28 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628160115/http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/71e33aea-ccaf-11e4-b94f-00144feab7de.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Emerging markets were not well-represented for most of the IMF's history: Despite being the most populous country, China's vote share was the sixth largest; Brazil's vote share was smaller than Belgium's.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Vreeland |first=James Raymond |date=11 May 2019 |title=Corrupting International Organizations |journal=Annual Review of Political Science |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=205–222 |doi=10.1146/annurev-polisci-050317-071031 |issn=1094-2939 |doi-access= }}</ref> Reforms to give more powers to emerging economies were agreed by the [[G-20 major economies|G20]] in 2010. The reforms could not pass, however, until they were ratified by the [[United States Congress]],<ref name="nyt-20140325">{{cite news |author=Jonathan Weisman |date=25 March 2014 |title=Senate Democrats Drop I.M.F. Reforms From Ukraine Aid |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/26/world/europe/senate-democrats-drop-imf-reforms-from-ukraine-aid-package.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |access-date=9 April 2014 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220103/https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/26/world/europe/senate-democrats-drop-imf-reforms-from-ukraine-aid-package.html |archive-date=3 January 2022}}{{cbignore }}</ref><ref name="reuters-20140407">{{cite news |date=7 April 2014 |title=Britain urges U.S. Congress to stop blocking IMF reform |publisher=Yahoo |agency=Reuters |url=https://news.yahoo.com/britain-urges-u-congress-stop-blocking-imf-reform-164902678--business.html |access-date=9 April 2014 |archive-date=13 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413150708/http://news.yahoo.com/britain-urges-u-congress-stop-blocking-imf-reform-164902678--business.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="reuters-20140409">{{cite news |last1=Hughes |first1=Krista |date=9 April 2014 |title=Australia treasurer 'disappointed' at U.S. impasse on IMF reform |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/imf-australia-idUSW1N0LW01320140409 |url-status=live |access-date=9 April 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410085237/http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/04/09/imf-australia-idUSW1N0LW01320140409 |archive-date=10 April 2014 }}</ref> since 85% of the Fund's voting power was required for the reforms to take effect,<ref name="IMF 2010 acceptance">{{Cite web |title=Acceptances of the Proposed Amendment of the Articles of Agreement on Reform of the Executive Board and Consents to 2010 Quota Increase |url=https://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/misc/consents.htm |access-date=9 July 2015 |website=imf.org |archive-date=29 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150629054230/http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/misc/consents.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> and the Americans held more than 16% of voting power at the time.<ref name="IMF members" /> After repeated criticism,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Talley |first1=Ian |date=14 April 2014 |title=The Wall Street Journal |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303887804579501252344303012 |via=online.wsj.com |access-date=2 September 2017 |archive-date=8 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161208081218/http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303887804579501252344303012 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="Bberg veto">{{Cite news |last1=Mayeda |first1=Andrew |date=12 May 2015 |title=Obama Seeks to Keep IMF Veto as China Influence Is Expanded |website=bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-12/obama-administration-said-to-reject-plan-that-threatens-imf-veto |access-date=9 July 2015 |archive-date=12 July 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150712212158/http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-05-12/obama-administration-said-to-reject-plan-that-threatens-imf-veto |url-status=live }}</ref> the U.S. finally ratified the voting reforms at the end of 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |date=18 December 2015 |title=IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde Welcomes U.S. Congressional Approval of the 2010 Quota and Governance Reforms |url=https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr15573 |access-date=25 July 2017 |website=imf.org |archive-date=8 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708142913/https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2015/09/14/01/49/pr15573 |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[OECD]] countries maintained their overwhelming majority of voting share, and the U.S. in particular retained its share at over 16%.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Weisbrot |first1=Mark |author-link=Mark Weisbrot |last2=Johnston |first2=Jake |year=2016 |title=Voting Share Reform at the IMF: Will it Make a Difference? |url=http://cepr.net/images/stories/reports/IMF-voting-shares-2016-04.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528013819/http://cepr.net/images/stories/reports/IMF-voting-shares-2016-04.pdf |archive-date=28 May 2016 |access-date=25 July 2017 |publisher=[[Center for Economic and Policy Research]] |location=Washington, DC }}</ref>

The criticism of the American- and European-dominated IMF has led to what some consider "disenfranchising the world" from the governance of the IMF. [[Raúl Prebisch]], the founding secretary-general of the [[UN Conference on Trade and Development]] (UNCTAD), wrote that one of "the conspicuous deficiencies of the general economic theory, from the point of view of the periphery, is its false sense of universality".<ref>{{cite book |author=Dosman, J. Edgar |title=The Life and Times of Raúl Prebisch, 1901-1986 |publisher=McGill-Queen University Press, Montreal |year=2008 |pages=248–249 }}</ref>

===Alternatives===
In March 2011, the Ministers of Economy and Finance of the [[African Union]] proposed to establish an [[African Monetary Fund]].<ref name="African Monetary Fund">{{cite news |url=http://www.trademarksa.org/news/au-discussions-african-monetary-fund |title=AU discussions on African Monetary Fund |publisher=TradeMark Southern Africa |date=16 March 2011 |access-date=5 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714221741/http://www.trademarksa.org/news/au-discussions-african-monetary-fund |archive-date=14 July 2014 }}</ref>

At the [[6th BRICS summit]] in July 2014 the [[BRICS]] nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) announced the [[BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement]] with an initial size of US$100&nbsp;billion, a framework to provide liquidity through [[Central bank liquidity swap|currency swap]]s in response to actual or potential short-term balance-of-payments pressures.<ref name="BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement">{{cite news |url=http://brics6.itamaraty.gov.br/media2/press-releases/214-sixth-brics-summit-fortaleza-declaration |title=Sixth BRICS Summit – Fortaleza Declaration |publisher=VI BRICS Summit |date=15 July 2014 |access-date=15 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140718034309/http://brics6.itamaraty.gov.br/media2/press-releases/214-sixth-brics-summit-fortaleza-declaration |archive-date=18 July 2014 }}</ref>

In 2014, the China-led [[Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank]] was established.<ref name="Donnan Dyer FT"/>

==In the media==
''[[Life and Debt]]'', a documentary film, deals with the IMF's policies' influence on Jamaica and its economy from a critical point of view. ''[[Debtocracy]]'', a 2011 independent Greek documentary film, also criticises the IMF. Portuguese musician [[José Mário Branco]]'s 1982 album ''{{ill|FMI (album)|lt=FMI|pt|FMI (álbum)|vertical-align=sup}}'' is inspired by the IMF's intervention in Portugal through monitored stabilisation programs in 1977–78. In the 2015 film ''[[Our Brand Is Crisis (2015 film)|Our Brand Is Crisis]]'', the IMF is mentioned as a point of political contention, where the Bolivian population fears its electoral interference.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jhunjhunwala |first1=Udita |title=Film review: Our Brand is Crisis |url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/2v85MVbTU5JzpYWExiHdhO/Film-review-Our-Brand-is-Crisis.html |website=livemint.com |date=8 January 2016 |access-date=7 March 2019 |archive-date=7 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190307173959/https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/2v85MVbTU5JzpYWExiHdhO/Film-review-Our-Brand-is-Crisis.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal bar|Economy|Money|World}}
{{col div|colwidth=20em}}
* {{Annotated link |Bank for International Settlements}}
* {{Annotated link |Conditionality}}
* {{Annotated link |Currency crisis}}
* {{Annotated link |Globalization}}
* {{Annotated link |Group of Ten (economics)|Group of Ten}}
* {{Annotated link |Group of Thirty}}
* {{Annotated link |International financial institutions}}
* {{Annotated link |List of IMF people}}
* {{Annotated link |New Development Bank}}
* {{Annotated link |Smithsonian Agreement}}
* {{Annotated link |The Swiss constituency}}
* {{Annotated link |World Bank residual model}}
* [[Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group]]
{{col div end}}

==References==
===Footnotes===
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
{{Refbegin|}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Lipscy |first1=Phillip |year=2015 |title=Explaining Institutional Change: Policy Areas, Outside Options, and the BrettonWoods Institutions |url=https://www.stanford.edu/~plipscy/AJPS-Lipscy-2015.pdf |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20190412041131/https://www.stanford.edu/~plipscy/AJPS-Lipscy-2015.pdf |archive-date=12 April 2019 |journal=American Journal of Political Science |volume=59 |number=2 |pages=341–356 |doi=10.1111/ajps.12130 |citeseerx=10.1.1.595.6890}}
* {{Cite conference |last1=Blomberg |first1=Brock |last2=Broz |first2=J. Lawrence |date=17 November 2006 |title=The Political Economy of IMF Voting Power |url=http://www.princeton.edu/~pcglobal/conferences/IPES/papers/broz_blomberg_F1030_1.pdf |conference=2006 International Political Economy Society Meeting (IPES) |conference-url=http://www.princeton.edu/~pcglobal/conferences/IPES/finalprogram.html |location=Niehaus Center for Globalization & Governance, [[Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120710215927/http://www.princeton.edu/~pcglobal/conferences/IPES/papers/broz_blomberg_F1030_1.pdf |archive-date=10 July 2012 |url-status=dead}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Boughton |first1=James M. |year=2001 |title=Silent Revolution: The International Monetary Fund 1979–1989 |url=https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/history/2001/ |location=Washington, DC |publisher=International Monetary Fund |isbn=978-1-55775-971-9 |access-date=12 July 2015 |archive-date=23 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230523033613/https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/history/2001/ |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Boughton |first1=James M. |author-mask=3 |year=2012 |title=Tearing Down Walls: The International Monetary Fund, 1990–1999 |url=http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/history/2012/index.htm |location=Washington, DC |publisher=IMF |isbn=978-1-61635-084-0 |ref=none |access-date=5 February 2016 |archive-date=17 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141217175811/http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/history/2012/index.htm |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Breen |first1=Michael |year=2013 |title=The Politics of IMF Lending |series=International Political Economy Series |location=Basingstoke and New York |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-1-137-26380-3}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Broz |first1=J. Lawrence |last2=Hawes Brewster |first2=Michael |year=2006 |chapter=US domestic politics and International Monetary Fund policy |chapter-url=http://pages.ucsd.edu/~jlbroz/pdf_folder/Broz_Hawes_CUP.pdf |title=''In Darren G. Hawkins et al. (eds.),'' Delegation and Agency in International Organizations'', pp. 77–106'' |series=Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions |location=Cambridge and New York |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-86209-7 |title-link=Darren G. Hawkins |ref=none |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150710132124/http://pages.ucsd.edu/~jlbroz/pdf_folder/Broz_Hawes_CUP.pdf |archive-date=10 July 2015 |url-status=live}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Henke |first1=Holger |year=2000 |title=Between Self-determination and Dependency: Jamaica's Foreign Relations 1972–1989 |location=Kingston, Jamaica |publisher=The United States of the West Indies Press |ref=none}}
* {{Cite journal |last1=Oatley |first1=Thomas |last2=Yackee |first2=Jason |year=2004 |title=American Interests and IMF Lending |journal=International Politics |volume=41 |number=3 |pages=415–429 |doi=10.1057/palgrave.ip.8800085 |s2cid=6934460}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Woods |first1=Ngaire |author-link=Ngaire Woods |year=2003 |chapter=The United States and the International Financial Institutions: Power and Influence Within the World Bank and the IMF |title=In Rosemary Foot, S. Neil MacFarlane, and Michael Mastanduno, eds., 'US Hegemony and International Organizations' |pages=92–114 |location=Oxford and New York |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-926142-0}}
{{Refend}}

==Further reading==
{{Library resources box}}
* {{Cite book |last1=Abouharb |first1=M. Rodwan |last2=Reinsberg |first2=Bernhard |year=2023 |title=IMF Lending: Partisanship, Punishment, and Protest |publisher=Cambridge University Press |series=Elements in International Relations |isbn=9781009451161 |doi=10.1017/9781009451116 |url=https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/143047 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Bordo |first=M.D. |title=The Bretton Woods International Monetary System: A Historical Overview |journal=A Retrospective on the Bretton Woods System |editor1-first=M.D. |editor1-last=Bordo |editor2-first=Barry |editor2-last=Eichengreen |location=London |year=1993 |doi=10.7208/chicago/9780226066905.001.0001 |isbn=9780226065878 |ref=none}}
* Copelovitch, Mark. 2010. ''[[doi:10.1017/CBO9780511712029|The International Monetary Fund in the Global Economy: Banks, Bonds, and Bailouts]]''. Cambridge University Press.
* deVries, Margaret Garritsen. ''The IMF in a Changing World, 1945–85'', International Monetary Fund, 1986.
* James, H. ''International Monetary Cooperation since Bretton Woods'', Oxford, 1996.
* Joicey, N. and Pickford, S. "The International Monetary Fund and Global Economic Cooperation" in Nicholas Bayne and Stephen Woolcock, ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20121114082311/http://www.ashgate.com/default.aspx?page=637&title_id=10989&edition_id=14221&calcTitle=1 The New Economic Diplomacy: Decision-Making and Negotiation in International Relations]'', (Ashgate Publishing, 2011).
* Keynes, J.M. ''The Collected Writings, Vol. XXVI. Activities 1941–1946: Shaping the Post-War World: Bretton Woods and Reparations'', Cambridge, 1980.
* {{Cite book |last1=Momani |first1=Bessma |last2=Hibben |first2=Mark |year=2024 |title=Oxford Handbook of the International Monetary Fund |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780192858405}}
* Moschella, M. ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20100503052836/http://us.macmillan.com/governingrisk Governing Risk: The IMF and Global Financial Crises]'' (Palgrave Macmillan; 2010).
* Skidelsky, R. ''John Maynard Keynes: Fighting for Britain'', London, 2000.
* Truman, E. [https://web.archive.org/web/20101222222103/http://www.iie.com/publications/pb/pb10-29.pdf Strengthening IMF Surveillance: A Comprehensive Proposal], Policy Brief 10–29, [[Peterson Institute for International Economics]], 2010.
* Weiss, Martin A. [https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42019.pdf ''The International Monetary Fund.''] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301060221/https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R42019.pdf |date=1 March 2012 }} (Washington, DC: [[Congressional Research Service]], 24 May 2018).
* Woods, N. ''The Globalizers: The IMF, the World Bank, and Their Borrowers'', Ithaca, 2006
* Woods, Ngaire and Lombardi, Domenico. (2006). Uneven Patterns of Governance: How Developing Countries are Represented in the IMF. Review of International Political Economy. Volume 13, Number 3: 480–515.

==External links==
{{sister project links|auto=y|d=y}}
* {{Official website|https://www.imf.org/}}
{{Trade}}
{{Central banks|Bretton Woods}}
{{International organisations|state=collapsed}}
{{International Monetary Fund by country}}
{{Economics}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:International Monetary Fund}}
[[Category:International Monetary Fund| ]]
[[Category:1944 in economic history]]
[[Category:1945 in economic history]]
[[Category:Global policy organizations]]
[[Category:International development organizations]]
[[Category:International finance institutions]]
[[Category:Organizations based in Washington, D.C.]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1944]]
[[Category:United Nations Development Group]]
[[Category:United Nations Economic and Social Council]]
[[Category:United Nations specialized agencies]]
[[Category:Funds]]