The IMF and Economic Development

by James Raymond Vreeland

Why do governments turn to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and with what effects? In this book, James Vreeland examines this question by analyzing cross-national time-series data from throughout the world. Vreeland argues that governments enter into IMF programs for economic and political reasons, and he finds that the programs hurt economic growth and redistribute income upward. By bringing in the IMF, governments gain political leverage - via conditionality - to push through unpopular policies. For certain constituencies, these policies dampen the effects of bad economic performance by redistributing income. But IMF programs doubly hurt others who are less well They lower growth and exacerbate income inequality.

Genres: Nonfiction

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Dayton Outar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I believe based on the presentation of the information and the arguments backed by statistics makes this book a fair treatment of this subject. Many believe that while the IMF serves a good intention, it appears that the structural adjustment programmes shifts wealth away from the poor. The author tries to be as objective as possible by encoding behaviour from several executives of several countries of several decades. Chapters 3 and 4 can be gory and it gets deeply mathematical. Due to the controversial nature of the opinion that is formed, the author was influenced to go deep into his statistical skills. Nonetheless, I find that his thesis and his observations are worthwhile taking into account for those that are serious about being objective about IMF's contribution throughout history.