Policy Papers
2024
March 19, 2024
Extension of Temporary Increase in Normal Access Limits Under the General Resources Account
Description: The IMF extended the current temporarily higher General Resources Account (GRA) normal annual and cumulative access limits, 200 percent of quota and 600 percent of quota, respectively, until end-2024. Initially, access limits were temporarily increased for 12 months in March 2023. The extension reflects the still uncertain global economic environment. Importantly, it helps bridge the gap to the comprehensive review of access limits planned for the second half of 2024, which will review access limits in the context of the developments of the nominal value of access limits against relevant macroeconomic aggregates and the outcomes of the 16th General Review of Quotas (GRQ). The impact on GRA resources and risks to the Fund from the extension of higher access limits are expected to be manageable.
March 11, 2024
Industrial Policy Coverage in IMF Surveillance—Broad Considerations
Description: The paper aims to provide a conceptual framework and guiding principles for the coverage of Industrial Policy (IP) in IMF surveillance. It proposes a working definition of industrial policy, discusses its objectives and main instruments, and provides a brief review of academic literature on IP. The paper discusses the four broad sets of considerations for assessing IP: justification, design, cost-benefit assessment, and implementation. It stresses that IP should be covered in IMF surveillance when it is deemed macro-critical and/or has the potential to generate significant cross-border spillovers. The paper also discusses specific aspects of industrial policies, including trade-related IP, green IP, Special Economic Zones (SEZs), and State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs), and provides examples of the IP coverage in the Article IV consultations with China, Euro Area, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, and the United States.
March 6, 2024
Rollback of Credit Arrangements in the New Arrangements to Borrow
Description: This paper presents a proposal for aggregate reduction of the New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB) by 16.8 percent (SDR 61.3 billion), while broadly preserving relative shares of NAB participants, in line with guidance by the BoG Resolution No. 79-1 on the Sixteenth General Review of Quotas (adopted on December 15, 2023). The objective is to maintain the Fund’s lending capacity as a result of the proposed 50 percent quota increases, conditional on a reduction (“rollback”) in the NAB credit arrangements and taking into account also the expiration of the 2020 Bilateral Borrowing Agreements. Changes in NAB credit arrangements require high levels of support from NAB participants. A safeguard mechanism allows the rollback to become effective provided that participants representing at least 90 percent of credit arrangements have consented to this proposal. The effectiveness of the rollback of NAB credit arrangements would be tied to the effectiveness of the quota increases under the Sixteenth General Review of Quotas.
February 20, 2024
Review of the Policy on Staff-Monitored Program With Executive Board Involvement
Description: This paper reviews the policy on Staff-Monitored Program with Executive Board Involvement (PMB). The PMB plays an important niche role in the Fund’s toolkit in supporting members in circumscribed circumstances, while not supplanting the Staff-Monitored Programs (SMPs) as the primary tool for building or rebuilding a track record towards a Fund arrangement that supports a UCT-quality program. Experience with the PMB is limited to three country cases over the past sixteen months. Further experience would be needed to draw more definitive conclusions in terms of the usefulness of the PMB vis-à-vis alternative instruments and a more parsimonious Fund toolkit. In this context, the PMB is kept in the toolkit, and it will be expected to be reviewed in three years.
January 30, 2024
Operational Guidance Note On Program Design and Conditionality
Description: This note aims to provide guidance on the key principles and considerations underlying the design of Fund-supported programs. The note expands on the previous operational guidance notes on conditionality published over 2003-2014, incorporating lessons from the 2018-19 Review of Conditionality, and other recent key policy developments including the recommendation of the Management’s Implementation Plan in response to Independent Evaluation Office (IEO)’s report on growth and adjustment in IMF-supported programs. The note in particular highlights operational advice to (i) improve the realism of macroeconomic forecast in programs and fostering a more systematic analysis of contingency plans and risks; (ii) improve the focus, depth, implementation, and tailoring of structural conditions (SCs), with due consideration of growth effects; and (iii) help strengthen the ownership of country authorities. Designed as a comprehensive reference and primer on program design and conditionality in an accessible and transparent manner, the note refers in summary to a broad range of economic and policy considerations over the lifecycle of Fund-supported programs. As with all guidance notes, the relevant IMF Executive Board Decisions remain the primary legal authority on matters covered in this note.
January 12, 2024
Interim Guidance Note on Mainstreaming Gender at The IMF
Description: This interim note provides general guidance on the operationalization of the IMF’s Strategy Toward Mainstreaming Gender. It offers a comprehensive overview of how IMF staff can integrate macrocritical gender issues into the IMF’s core areas of surveillance, lending, and capacity development. Key topics include i) identifying and assessing macrocritical gender gaps; ii) the “light touch” and “deep dive” approaches; iii) early insights on integrating gender into IMF-supported programs; iv) capacity development on gender or with a gender lens; v) synergies with other workstreams and vi) the importance of collaboration. It also includes summaries and links to relevant tools, databases, IMF staff reports, and relevant literature.
January 5, 2024
List of IMF Member Countries with Delays in Completion of Article IV Consultations or Mandatory Financial Stability Assessments Over 18 Months
Description: In accordance with the Executive Board Decision No. 15106-(12/21), the Fund will publish on its external website a list of member countries whose Article IV consultations or mandatory financial stability assessments have been delayed by more than 18 months, as of December 15, 2023, since the expected deadline for conclusion. The latest version of this list, as shown in Appendix I, will be published on the Fund’s external website on or after Tuesday, January 2, 2024.
January 5, 2024
Review of the Framework for Data Adequacy Assessment for Surveillance
Description: This paper reviews the framework for Data Adequacy Assessment for Surveillance, which is a key element of the policies that govern the requirements for Data Provision to the Fund for Surveillance Purposes, aimed at ensuring high-quality data for economic analysis and policy advice. The Data Adequacy Assessment requires staff to assess, in the context of Article IV consultations, the adequacy of data provided to the Fund for surveillance purposes, the implications of data inadequacies for surveillance, and the need for corrective measures. In line with the recommendation of the Independent Evaluation Office’s report “Behind the Scenes with Data at the IMF: An IEO Evaluation” and previous guidance provided by the IMF Executive Board, this paper introduces a new framework to prepare the Data Adequacy Assessment, ensuring greater objectivity and granularity in the assessment. Data adequacy will become more prominent in the surveillance discussions by including a new Data Issues Annex in the staff report, which will replace the current Statistical Issues Appendix in the Informational Annex. The new framework will facilitate the policy dialogue with country authorities on macro-critical data issues and enhance the integration of surveillance and capacity development.
2023
December 22, 2023
IMF and World Bank Approach to Cross-Border Payments Technical Assistance
Description: The G20 had made enhancing cross-border payments a priority. Faster, cheaper, more transparent and more inclusive cross-border payment services have the potential to be transformative for citizens and economies across the world. The Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-Border Payments, launched in 2020, is the first attempt by the international community to address the challenges faced by cross-border payments in a holistic way. A key foundational element in the Roadmap was the publication by the FSB of 11 quantitative targets to define the Roadmap’s aims and create accountability. Technical Assistance (TA) plays a critical role in helping achieve the Roadmap targets. TA relates closely to, and builds on, the IMF’s and World Bank’s respective missions. This paper outlines a multi-year strategy to provide TA in order to meet the cross-border payments targets. The paper (1) details the important role TA plays in achieving the Roadmap targets; (2) summarizes stocktakes conducted by the IMF and World Bank of recent and ongoing TA supporting cross-border payments; and (3) explains the IMF’s and World Bank’s approaches to cross-border payments TA. The IMF and World Bank commit to collaborating, coordinating, and complementing each other on cross-border payments TA wherever possible and appropriate at country/project level.
December 21, 2023
Update on Implementation Plan to Address the Recommendations of the 2022 Institutional Safeguards Review
Description: In response to the recommendations from the 2022 Institutional Safeguards Review (ISR), a comprehensive Implementation Plan (IP) was developed drawing on the work undertaken by a Board Steering Group, Management, and staff. The IP, which was discussed and endorsed by the Board in December 2022, outlined a set of actions and policy changes that reflected the strong shared commitment of the Board and Management to a durable change in the institution and the highest standards of institutional governance. Substantial progress has been made in advancing the IP actions that were due to be completed in CY2023, with 85 percent of the actions having been completed or remaining on track for completion.