International Monetary Fund

The International Monetary Fund is an international financial institution that promotes monetary cooperation, monitors economies, and lends to countries facing balance-of-payments problems.

Balance of payments: A record of transactions between a country’s residents and the rest of the world. Balance-of-payments gaps are the central problem the IMF’s lending is designed to address.
Bretton Woods Conference: The 1944 international conference that established the IMF and the World Bank. Delegates designed the IMF’s original mandate and governance at this conference.
European sovereign debt crisis: A crisis of public borrowing and financial stability in several European countries, especially from 2009 onward. The IMF joined European institutions in financing and monitoring several national adjustment programs.
World Bank: An international development institution that finances projects and programs to reduce poverty and support development. The World Bank focuses on development finance, while the IMF centers on monetary stability and balance-of-payments support.
Washington Consensus: A set of market-oriented policy prescriptions associated with economic reform debates from the late twentieth century. IMF programs became closely associated with these prescriptions, though the label oversimplifies varied policies.
IMF conditionality: Policy commitments attached to IMF financing, intended to support economic adjustment and repayment. These commitments define the policy changes commonly required alongside IMF loans.
Harry Dexter White: An American economist who helped design the postwar international financial institutions. White’s plan was a major influence on the IMF’s founding structure.
Asian financial crisis: A regional financial crisis that began in Thailand in 1997 and spread across East and Southeast Asia. IMF programs in Indonesia, South Korea, and Thailand became central to disputes over crisis policy.
Bank for International Settlements: An international organization that supports central-bank cooperation and provides services to central banks. The BIS facilitates central-bank collaboration but does not lend to countries to address balance-of-payments crises.
Structural adjustment: Economic reforms tied to international lending, often involving fiscal, trade, and market-policy changes. IMF-backed adjustment programs have reshaped public spending and economic institutions in borrowing countries.

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