Oxford Handbook of the International Monetary Fund

This handbook aims to uncover the challenges faced by the International Monetry Fund by providing diverse perspectives and proposing policy recommendations that the Fund could undertake to better navigate the complex landscape of 21st-century global governance.

List of contents

• Part I: History


• 1: Atish R. Ghosh: The IMF: Origins, the Bretton Woods System, and Five Major Debates


• 2: James M. Boughton: The IMF In The Post-Bretton Woods Era (1973-Present)


• Part Ii: Formal Operations


• 3: Susanne Lütz: IMF Lending


• 4: Martin S. Edwards: IMF Surveillance: Mapping an Unfinished Journey


• 5: Jung Yeon Kim: IMF Capacity Development


• Part III: Actors


• 6: Lisa Martin: States


• 7: Randall Stone: Markets and Financiers


• 8: John Abraham: Epistemic Communities and IMF Policy


• 9: Nadia Daar: Transforming IMF-Civil Society Relations


• Part IV: IGO Partners


• 10: Matthias Kranke: Building Partnerships: The IMF and other International Organizations


• 11: Liam Clegg: The IMF and World Bank: Exploring the Limits of Institutional Collaboration


• 12: Stephen G. Cecchetti: Collaboration in Financial Regulatory Reform: The IMF, the Financial Stability Board, and the Standard Setting Bodies


• Part V: Ideas And Policy Instruments


• 13: Ali Burak Güven: What has Replaced the Washington Consensus? Tracing Policy Change in the IMF


• 14: Michael Breen: The IMF, Financial Regulation, and Capital Controls


• 15: Ayse Kaya: How Much Does the IMF Care About Inequality? Dynamics of Fragmented Institutional Change and Mission-Consistent Adaptation


• 16: Cornel Ban: From Volcker to Volcker: IMF Monetary Policy Doctrine and Practice


• 17: Ben Clift: IMF Fiscal Policy: Reconciling New Challenges to Existing Priorities


• Part VI: Broadening Macro-Critical Concerns


• 18: Rishi Goyal And Ratna Sahay: Getting Serious About Mainstreaming Gender at the IMF


• 19: Prakash Loungani, Hites Ahir And Akos Mate: The IMF's Work on Labor Markets


• 21: Rishikesh Ram Bhandary And Keven P. Gallagher: Advancing Climate Policy at the IMF


• 22: Kevin Farnsworth And Zoë Irving: Inclusive Growth: What Role for Social Policy in IMF Discourse?


• 23: Rhoda Weeks-Brown: Anti-Corruption Work at the IMF:At the Cross-Roads.


• Part VII: Internal Challenges


• 24: Kathryn C. Lavelle: The United States and the IMF: An Evolving Relationship


• 25: Bessma Momani: Diversifying the IMF and its Culture


• 26: Mark Hibben: IMF Uniformity of Treatment: In Name Only?


• 27: Te-Anne Robles: Navigating Risk and Uncertainty within the IMF Technocratic Trap


• Part VIII: External Headwinds


• 28: Richard Clark: The Populist Challenge


• 29: Anton Malkin And Lisha Wang: Reluctant Revisionism: The IMF as a Ballast in China's Global Financial Diplomacy


• 30: Merih Angin And Saliha Metinsoy: Europe Unresolved


• 31: Aldo Caliari: Debt Concerns of Low-Income and Emerging Market Countries


• 32: Paul White: Global Market Integration, Crisis Management and the Limits of the Macro-Social Turn


• Part IX: The Imf And 21st Century Global Governance


• 33: Christian Kennedy-Hernandez: An IMF for the Global South


• 34: Ceyla Pazarbasioglu And Neil Meads: IMF Crisis Management: Lessons from the GFC and the Pandemic


• 35: Augosto Lopez-Claros: Strengthening the IMF for the 21st Century


• 36: Eugenia C. Heldt And Orfeo Fioretos: The IMF and the Future of the Liberal International Order

About the author

Dr. Bessma Momani is Associate Vice-President, International and Full Professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Waterloo. She is a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, a Fulbright Scholar, a Governor on the board of the International Development Research Centre, and a member of the advisory board of the Canadian International Council. She has worked as a consultant to the International Monetary Fund, both in the communications office and the Independent Evaluation Office, and to Global Affairs Canada (GAC) as a 2021 Visiting Scholar in its International Assistance Research and Knowledge Division.

Dr. Mark Hibben is Associate Professor of Political Science at Saint Joseph's College of Maine. His research interests include the politics of development, with a specific focus on the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Book publications include the co-authored (with Bessma Momani) What is Wrong with the IMF and How to Fix It (Polity) and Poor States Power, and the Politics of IMF Reform: Drivers of Change in the Post-Washington Consensus (Palgrave Macmillan). His work is also published in The Review of International Organizations, Journal of International Organizational Studies, and The Journal of International Relations and Development.

Summary

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a pivotal institution in global economic governance tasked with ensuring monetary stability and preventing financial crises through promoting balanced trade, economic growth, and poverty reduction. It also plays a powerful normative role by shaping economic policies worldwide through its research and expertise. The IMF played a crucial role in managing crises like the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, providing significant financial aid and advocating for stimulus measures. However, the IMF faces both internal and external challenges from reforming its governance structure to better represent emerging economies to finding its place in a world increasingly defying liberal internationalism and multilateralism. Despite reforms, power remains concentrated among advanced economies, hindering inclusivity and trust, particularly in regions like sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitical tensions, populist nationalism, and economic imbalances further strain the IMF's effectiveness.

This handbook aims to uncover these challenges by providing diverse perspectives and proposing policy recommendations that the Fund could undertake to better navigate the complex landscape of 21st-century global governance. Part I delves into its historical origins and key debates of the IMF. Part II focuses on formal operations such as lending, surveillance, and capacity development. Part III explores the involvement of different actors including states, markets, and civil society. Part IV discusses partnerships with other international organizations and collaboration in financial regulation. Part V analyzes shifts in policy instruments and ideological frameworks. Part VI broadens concerns to include gender mainstreaming, labor markets, climate policy, and inclusive growth. Part VII addresses internal challenges including cultural diversity concerns and uniformity of treatment. Part VIII evaluates external challenges such as populist movements, China's influence, global inequality and unresolved issues in Europe. Part IX explores how the IMF can meet the multiple challenges identified in this volume and positively impact 21st century global governance.

Product details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 17.10.2024
• EAN: 9780192858405
• ISBN: 978-0-19-285840-5
• No. of pages: 800
• Subjects: Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Money & Monetary Policy, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Economy, POLITICAL SCIENCE / International Relations / General, BUSINESS & ECONOMICS / Economics / Macroeconomics, macroeconomics, Political Economy, Monetary Economics, International institutions, International institutions / intergovernmental organizations