Books

April 24, 1996

Functioning of the International Monetary System

Description: The fiftieth anniversary of the Bretton Woods Conference served as an opportunity to reappraise the desirability of strengthening the IMF's oversight of the functioning of the international monetary system. Whatever the design of an exchange rate system and the arrangements for the provision of international liquidity, it is widely accepted that to be effective such oversight must rest on a strong analytic foundation. These two volumes, edited by Jacob A. Frenkel and Morris Goldstein, present 30 analytic papers on the system as it functioned during 1987-91 and aim at conveying the flavor of those issues that commanded close attention in the Fund's research program.

December 15, 1995

Central Banking Technical Assistance to Countries in Transition: Papers and Proceedings of the Meeting of Donor and Recipient Central Banks and International Institutions

Description: This book, edited by J.B. Zulu, Ian S. McCarthy, Susana Almuiña, and Gabriel Sensenbrenner, presents the proceedings of the special Joint Meetings on Central Banking Technical Assistance held in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1994, and provides detailed information on important issues in central banking, including a comparative sample of 31 countries. The arrangements concerning such issues as the size and composition of the policymaking board, the role of the central bank in monetary and exchange rate policy, resolution of conflict between the central bank and the government, public accountability, relations with the markets, and credit to the government are reviewed.

October 20, 1995

France: Financial and Real Sector Issues

Description: This book, edited by Paul R. Mason, analyses the policy challenges that face the French economy in the second half of this decade, highlighting the need for structural changes to enhance the economy's flexibility. The authors argue that budgetary constraints will oblige France to address structural economic problems by reducing social benefits and cutting government expediture.

September 28, 1995

Policies for Growth: The Latin American Experience: Proceedings of a Conference held in Mangaratiba, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, March 16-19, 1994

Description: This collection of papers delivered at a seminar, moderated by André Lara Resende, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, addresses the issues considered pertinent to the consolidation of stability, the recovery of growth, and the process of stabilization undertaken in the aftermath of the inflationary crisis in Latin American economies in the 1980s.

Notes: The conference was cosponsored by the International Monetary Fund, the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, and the Central Bank of Brazil.

September 8, 1995

Reforming China's Public Finances

Description: The reform of fiscal relations between different levels of geovernment is crucial to the success of China's current structural transformation to a socialist market economy. The reform will profoundly affect macroeconomic stability, growth prospects , and the effectiveness of providing public services and interregional equity. In order to review international experience and to clearly identify the policy options for China in the short to medium term, a conference was held in Shanghai in October 1993. The papers in this volume, edited by Ehtisham Ahmad, Gao Qiang, and Vito Tanzi, include those presented at the conference and a few that supplement it.

Notes: Papers presented at a symposium held in Shanghai, China, October 25-28, 1993.

August 3, 1995

Current Legal Issues Affecting Central Banks, Volume III.

Description: Volume III, edited by Robert C. Effros, contains the collected views of banking and legal experts, gathered at the third IMF-sponsored seminar of central banks general counsels. Matters of both international and domestic concern are addressed. The contributors analyze topics covering developments in international financial institutions; the progress of the European Union toward monetary union and a unified banking and securities market; the economic reform of Latin America; the resolution of the debt crisis; and banking regulations and reform in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

June 12, 1995

Effective Government Accounting

Description: This book, by A. Premchand, seeks to bridge fiscal economics and government accounting. It examines historical developments, ingredients of existing systems, features of accounting standards, and other issues that governments must address to perform their tasks economically and efficiently. Readers gain insights into institutional linkages and the role of electronic technology. Arguing that government accounting systems are too important to be left to accountants alone, the book presents an interdisciplinary approach that goes beyond adapting commercial accounting formats to governments.

April 25, 1995

Tax Policy Handbook

Description: Edited by Parthasarathi Shome, this Handbook was written primarily for economists who are responsible for analyzing and evaluating economic policies of developing countries at an applied level, and who would benefit from a comprehensive discussion of the concepts, principles, and prevailing issues of taxation.

April 14, 1995

Fifty Years After Bretton Woods: The Future of the IMF and the World Bank: Proceedings of a Conference held in Madrid, Spain, September 29-30, 1994

Description: This volume, edited by James M. Boughton and K. Sarwar Lateef, contains the proceedings of a conference held in Madrid, Spain, in 1994, by the IMF and the World Bank to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the Bretton Woods conference of July 1944 that created the two institutions. The conference provided a forum for reflection and for reassessing the roles of the institutions as they approach the twenty-first century.

Notes: The conference was sponsored jointly by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and was held in conjunction with the Annual Meetings of the Boards of Governors of the two institutions. Published jointly by the IMF and the World Bank Group.

March 15, 1995

Balance of Payments Compilation Guide

Description: A companion document to the fifth edition of the Balance of Payments Manual, the Balance of Payments Compilation Guide shows how the conceptual framework described in the Manual may be implemented in practice. The primary purpose of the Guide is to provide practical guidance for using sources and methods to compile statistics on the balance of payments and the international investment position. the Guide is designed to assist balance of payments compilers and statisticians in understanding the relative strengths and weaknesses of various approaches. The material reflects the emergence of new data sources and adaptations in the application of statistical methodologies to changing circumstances. Discussed in the Guide are all of the tasks that a BOP compiler normally performs. Appendices contain a set of model BOP questionnaires and a set of model BOP publication tables. Relationships between the balance of payments statistics and relevant aspects of national accounts are covered as well.