Policy Papers
2011
December 28, 2011
The Challenge of Public Pension Reform in Advanced and Emerging Economies
Description: This paper reviews past trends in public pension spending and provides projections for 27 advanced and 25 emerging economies over 2011–2050. In constructing these projections, the paper incorporates the impact of recent pension reforms and highlights the key assumptions underlying these projections and associated risks. The paper also presents reform options to address future pension spending pressures in the advanced and emerging economies. These reforms—mainly increasing retirement ages, reducing replacement rates, or increasing payroll taxes—are discussed in the context of their role in fiscal consolidation, and their implications for both equity and economic growth. In addition, the paper examines the challenge of emerging economies of expanding coverage in a fiscally sustainable manner.
December 13, 2011
Proposed Amendment to the Articles of Agreement on the Reform of the IMF Executive Board and Fourteenth General Review of Quotas—Status of Acceptances and Consents
Description: This paper 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”) as set out in the Board of Governors Resolution No. 66-2.
December 8, 2011
Extension of the Period for Consent to Increase Quotas Under the Fourteenth General Review of Quotas, the 2008 Reform of Quota and Voice, and the Eleventh General Review of Quotas
Description: This paper proposes a six-month extension of the period for consent to increase quotas under the Fourteenth General Review of Quotas. The current deadline is due to expire on December 31, 2011; however, Resolution No. 66-2 provides that the Executive Board may extend the period for consent as it may determine. An extension under the Board of Governor’s Resolution No. 66-2 will also extend the periods of consent for quota increases under the 2008 Reform of Quota and Voice (Resolution No. 63-2) and the Eleventh General Review of Quotas (Resolution No. 53-2).
December 8, 2011
Classification of Low-Income Countries for the Purpose of Debt Limits in Fund-Supported Programs - 2011 Update
Description: This short paper informs the Executive Board of staff’s assessment of macroeconomic and public financial management capacity (henceforth “capacity”) in PRGT-eligible countries (henceforth “low-income countries”) with Fund-supported programs for the purpose of setting debt limits. Capacity plays an important role in the framework for debt limits. This framework includes a menu of options for concessionality requirements to reflect the diversity of situations in low-income countries (LICs). Eligibility for a particular option is related to an assessment of debt vulnerabilities and capacity.
December 5, 2011
The Fund's Income Position for FY 2012--Midyear Review
Description: This paper updates the outlook for the Fund’s income position for FY 2012. The overall outlook is broadly unchanged, with the FY 2012 net operational income now projected at SDR 500 million compared with the projection of SDR 482 million in April 2011. This primarily reflects additional lending activity, which is partially offset by lower implicit returns on the Fund’s interest-free resources owing to the prevailing interest rate environment.1 The actual outcome is subject to considerable uncertainty in light of conditions in the global economy, which could affect the timing and amounts of disbursements under current and potential new arrangements and the performance of the Investment Account (IA).
November 30, 2011
Guidance Note on Letters and Statements Assessing Members’ Economic Conditions and Policies
Description: This note provides guidance on the need for, content, review and circulation of assessment letters or statements. Such letters or statements may be prepared for countries with programs supported by the Fund through financial assistance or a policy support instrument, countries receiving Fund emergency assistance, countries with staff-monitored programs (SMPs), or surveillance-only cases.
November 23, 2011
Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust - Review of Interest Rate Structure
Description: This is the first review of the interest rate mechanism approved under the 2009 reforms of the Fund’s concessional lending facilities. The mechanism links the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) interest rate structure to world interest rates and provides a setting to differentiate interest rates across the various PRGT facilities. The framework requires reviews every two years, with the first such review to be completed by December 31, 2011.
November 22, 2011
A New Rule for Setting the Margin for the Basic Rate of Charge
Description: In April 2008, the Executive Board adopted a package of measures to reform the Fund’s income model. This followed an intensive work program building on the recommendations of an independent committee appointed by the Managing Director to study options for sustainable long-term financing for the Fund. The resulting new income model aims to broaden the Fund’s income sources and reduce its reliance on lending income as the primary source of revenue. This new model includes: (i) creating an endowment funded with the profits from a limited sale of the Fund’s gold holdings; (ii) expanding the Fund’s investment authority to enhance the expected return on the Fund’s investments; and (iii) resuming the practice of reimbursing the General Resources Account (GRA) for the cost of administering the PRG Trust.
November 16, 2011
The WTO Doha Trade Round - Unlocking the Negotiations and Beyond
Description: This note provides an update on the status of Doha negotiations and an outlook on significant non-Doha trade issues that should be tackled in the near future. Section II investigates what has stalled progress on Doha since the IMF Executive Board was last briefed in October 2008 (World Bank and IMF, 2008). Section III illustrates that notable gains would come from a Doha conclusion, both from actual new market access and--perhaps more crucially--from the added trade security that Doha would bring. However, Section IV suggests that the time may now have come to devote more resources to discussing important non-Doha issues at the WTO. Section V concludes that the Fund should continue to support both a Doha conclusion as well as the important work on non-Doha issues.
November 14, 2011
Cross-Cutting Themes in Advanced Economies with Emerging Market Banking Links
Description:
The most recent decade has seen a growing presence of banks headquartered in advanced economies (AEs) expanding into emerging markets (EMs). These expansions have brought some benefits to both home and host countries, but the global financial crisis has also unmasked significant vulnerabilities inherent in such relationships.
In keeping with past cross-cutting themes papers, this paper focuses on the experiences of four medium-sized ―home countries,‖ each with significant retail banking links to EMs—Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain. These countries were chosen because of their banks' diverse approaches to EM expansion (including the centralization of their funding models) and equally diverse crisis outcomes (fears over Eastern European exposures resulted in extraordinary policy efforts to maintain bank lending), providing fertile ground for analysis and for drawing lessons in the future.