Policy Papers
2012
June 15, 2012
Fiscal Policy and Employment in Advanced and Emerging Economies
Description: This paper discusses tax and expenditure policy reforms to raise employment. Using data for 58 advanced and emerging economies, the paper provides a unified assessment of tax and expenditure measures that have usually been addressed separately. The focus is on incentives to increase labor demand and supply rather than on the impact of fiscal policy on employment through aggregate demand effects. It also discusses policies to improve the matching of labor supply and demand, and the principles which should guide the design of country-specific fiscal reforms to boost employment. A comprehensive set of tables on fiscal policies and labor market outturns for advanced and emerging economies is provided, permitting cross-country comparisons to facilitate the design of reform strategies.
June 12, 2012
Proposed Amendment on the Reform of the IMF Executive Board and Fourteenth General Review of Quotas—Status of Acceptances and Consents
Description: This paper reviews progress toward implementation of the 2010 Governance and Quota Reforms. It updates the status of consents to the proposed quota increases under the 14th General Review of Quotas and of acceptances of the Proposed Seventh Amendment on the Reform of the Executive Board (“Board Reform Amendment” or “Seventh Amendment”) as set out in the Board of Governors Resolu0tion No. 66-2.
June 5, 2012
A Survey of Experiences with Emerging Market Sovereign Debt Restructurings
Description: This paper takes stock of past episodes of debt restructuring and reviews the relevant literature. Based on cross-country experience from the late 1990s through 2010 of emerging markets it offers some stylized facts.
May 31, 2012
Precautionary and Liquidity Line—Operational Guidance Note
Description: The Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL) was introduced in the context of the Board discussion on the Fund's Financing Role: Reform Proposals on Liquidity and Emergency Assistance in November 2011, replacing and broadening the scope of the previously established Precautionary Credit Line (PCL). The following note provides operational guidance to staff and further background information on the PLL. SPR (the Emerging Markets Division), FIN, and LEG stand ready to clarify any further questions that departments may have on the PLL.
May 31, 2012
Flexible Credit Line—Operational Guidance Note
Description: The Flexible Credit Line (FCL) was introduced as part of a package of reforms to the Fund’s lending facilities in March 2009 and its design was further refined in August 2010. The following provides operational guidance and further background information on the FCL. SPR (the Emerging Markets Division), FIN, and LEG stand ready to clarify any further questions departments may have on the FCL or other aspects of the reforms to lending and conditionality.
May 29, 2012
Statement by the Managing Director on the Work Program of the Executive Board - Executive Board Meeting
Description:
Agenda. Last April was an important milestone for the institution. The commitment to increase Fund resources by over $430 billion on a temporary basis attests to the membership’s willingness to act collectively and decisively to get ahead of the crisis. For our part, we must continue to support these efforts with clear and pointed advice on macro financial policies, and strong and well-designed programs. This is true not only for Europe, where the risks to stability have been acute, but across the span of the membership. We need to continue to offer pragmatic remedies to the main risks confronting the global economy, help members address spillovers, and support their economic transitions and development agendas. We need also to strengthen our internal processes, with reforms of surveillance, quotas and governance. These points, which draw on my Action Plan of last month and feedback from members during the Spring Meetings, are elaborated in the work plan below.
May 25, 2012
Statement by the Managing Director on the Management Implementation Plan for the IEO Report on the Fund's Performance in the Run-Up to the Crisis
Description: The Management Implementation Plan puts forward a range of measures crucial to strengthening surveillance, carefully drawing on the IEO’s report and on the Triennial Surveillance Review (TSR). Yet stronger surveillance cannot be cast simply in terms of technical processes, such as those for better data, risk assessments, macro-financial integration, or messaging. Deeper and more difficult questions of institutional culture, of how we conduct our daily work, are also at play, and these too need to be answered. I will focus on two aspects of the task at hand: (1) breaking down silos; and (2) promoting diverse views/candor. I would like to share with you today some initiatives that the management team has sought to implement over the past nine months, to go over the initial results, and to propose a way forward with what remains to be done.
May 7, 2012
Fiscal Safeguards
Description: This paper notifies the Executive Board of a pilot exercise for fiscal safeguards. The pilot will be conducted by the Fiscal Affairs Department and will cover a limited number of large budget financing cases over the next twelve months. Contrary to the existing safeguards assessment for central banks, participation in this exercise will be voluntary but will follow similar procedures in terms of confidentiality.
April 30, 2012
Update on the Financing of the Fund's Concessional Assistance and Debt Relief to Low-Income Member Countries
Description:
Commitments under new PRGT-supported programs are expected to increase in 2012 in part reflecting the weaker global economic outlook. PRGT commitments in 2011 amounted to SDR 1.2 billion, unchanged from their 2010 level. Staff projections suggest demand could rise to about SDR 2 billion in 2012. If all elements of the 2009 financing package are secured, the PRGT will have an annual average lending capacity of SDR 2.2 billion over 2012–14, or SDR 1.6 billion through 2015.
Additional pledges of SDR 1 billion in loan resources are still required to secure the targeted loan resources approved under the 2009 financing package. Fourteen members have so far pledged SDR 9.8 billion in new loan resources for the PRGT compared with the target of SDR 10.8 billion. New borrowing agreements totaling SDR 9.5 billion have been signed with thirteen lenders.
April 25, 2012
Staff Guidance Note on the Fund’s Engagement with Countries in Fragile Situations
Description: This note aims to provide country teams with broad guidance on engagement with countries in fragile situations. The aim of the guidance note is to help staff maintain focus on issues specific to countries in fragile situations. While engagement should focus on the issues and principles laid out in the note, there is, of course, scope for staff to tailor engagement to country specific circumstances beyond proposed practices.