The IMF On the Run

The IMF on the Run: The International Monetary Fund Tries to Outrun Its Critics

by Robert Weissman

For two decades, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has exerted a stranglehold over developing country economies, denying them the funding they need to make foreign debt payments and avoid default, unless they enact "structural adjustment" policies.

Now, for the first time, the Fund faces a real challenge to its continued existence, at least in its current form. So far, the IMF has been extraordinarily successful in turning the growing momentum against it to its own advantage. MORE>>

Unraveling the Washington Consensus

An Interview with Joseph Stiglitz

Joseph Stiglitz served as chief economist and senior vice president for development economics at the World Bank until the end of 1999. At the World Bank, he gained notoriety by criticizing the development economics enshrined in "the Washington Consensus" and by leveling harsh attacks on the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Prior to serving at the World Bank, Stiglitz was a member and then chair of the U.S. Council of Economic advisers. He is on leave from Stanford University, where he is a professor of economics. MORE>>

Globalization, Regionalism and Democracy

An Interview with Samir Amin

Samir Amin heads the Third World Forum in Dakar, Senegal, where he is leading an effort to strengthen regional ties among African nations. He is the author of many books, including: Capitalism in the Age of Globalization, Delinking: Toward a Polycentric World and Unequal Development. MORE>>

20 Questions on the IMF

What is the IMF's mission and how has that changed over time? What is the current relationship between the IMF and World Bank? How has that changed over time? Do their functions overlap? What is the IMF and World Bank's relationship to the World Trade Organization (WTO)? How does the IMF set its policies? How open is the IMF to outside scrutiny and participation? Given that the U.S. taxpayer kicks in a great deal for the IMF, what kind of oversight of the IMF is provided by Congress or other agencies? MORE>>