What We Do

The IMF serves as a global hub for knowledge on economic and financial issues. Over the last seven decades, it has developed world-leading expertise and a repository of experience on what policies work, why they unleash growth and how best to implement them.

Informed by its experience gained across diverse countries at varying stages of their development, the IMF shares this knowledge with member countries through hands-on advice, training and peer-to-peer learning. This in turn helps governments modernize their economic policies and institutions.

The IMF’s capacity development work is part of its core mandate — along with tracking global economic developments and lending to countries that experience balance of payment crises. This knowledge sharing work focuses on the following areas:

Public Finances

Advise governments on how to raise revenues and effectively manage expenditure, including tax and customs policies, budget formulation, domestic and foreign debt, and social safety nets. This enables governments to provide better public services such as schools, roads and hospitals.

For instance: Liberia reached out to the IMF to help establish a modern tax structure to raise revenues and finance essential public services. The IMF helped strengthen Liberia’s audit and taxpayer services, and supported the establishment of the Liberia Revenue Authority to better endure the Ebola crisis in 2014.

The IMF’s areas of expertise in fiscal management include:
  • Tax policy
  • Tax and customs administration
  • Expenditure policy
  • Budget formulation
  • Public financial management
  • Fiscal policy and institutional frameworks
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Better economic policies help individuals and businesses thrive. The IMF’s efforts help governments and their staff gain the tools and confidence they need to build and implement modern policies that ensure long-term stability and spur growth.