Economists, Activists Call for Major IMF Overhaul

[cory777]

Source: IPS

WASHINGTON, 28 Sep (IPS) - Thirteen leading international economists and development specialists called here Tuesday for a major reform of the governing body of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the way it does business.

The appeal, in the form of an open letter to the IMF's board of governors, echoes in part a call by the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama for Western European countries to reduce their share of spots on the Fund's executive board in order to ensure greater representation for emerging powers, such as China and India, as well as for poor countries from Sub-Saharan Africa and other regions.

But the letter goes beyond the Obama administration's demands, which are likely to dominate next month's annual meeting here of the IMF's board of governors, by urging the adoption of additional reforms that, among other things, would eliminate Washington's veto power over major IMF policy decisions and ensure greater transparency in the agency's often-opaque procedures.

"We are saying that Europe is not doing enough to push ahead with IMF reforms regarding the reconstitution of the board," said Domenico Lombardi, an expert at the Washington-based Brookings Institution and the Oxford Institute for Economic Policy, and one of the letter's signatories.

Read more: http://ipsnorthamerica.net/news.php?idnews=3306

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[pampango]

1. "Europe is reluctant to see its representation weaken on the IMF's Executive Board..."

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=531158

Asian and European leaders gathering in the Belgian capital next month will pledge better coordination on reforms to prevent financial crises and maintain sustainable growth, a draft declaration to be adopted at the Asia-Europe Meeting showed Monday, Kyodo news agency reported.

In the declaration on the global economic crisis, the leaders are also expected to note the importance of promoting international economic integration, with free-trade agreements between Asia and Europe in mind.

On International Monetary Fund (IMF) reforms, the leaders are expected to express their support for giving developing countries greater representation in the organisation given the greater weight they carry in the world economy today.

But discussions about it are expected to be postponed to a future general meeting of the IMF given a dispute between Europe and developing countries over the matter. Europe is reluctant to see its representation weaken on the IMF's Executive Board, where it currently holds nine seats, including Switzerland, a non-EU member, if greater voting power is given to developing countries through the shifting of IMF quota shares.

[inna]

2. fascinating, thanks for posting this

[nyy1998]

3. That would be wonderful if they did, most poor countries that get IMF loans HATE the IMF for all the

restrictions(lot's of ridiculous privatization and lassies-faire(sp) economic policies). Take an opinion poll of most African and Asian countries that've received IMF funding and I'd be shocked if they got double-digit support

I understand that the IMF wants to ensure that the money they loan out is going to good use, but their interpretation of good use is plainly wrong.