Policy Papers

August 4, 2006

Quotas - Updated Calculations

Description: The purpose of this paper is to present the results of updating the data set used for quota calculations through 2004. This updated data set will provide the basis for discussions on possible adjustments in the distribution of quotas in the period leading up to the Annual Meetings. The paper describes the methodologies used to update the data set and discusses the impact of the data update on the distribution of calculated quotas among major country groups. More detailed information on the methodology used and results of the updated quota calculations are presented in the appendices.

Notes:

Quota Data Files

NEW as of February 27, 2007, Electronic Access: Quota Update Tables A1, A2 (Excel file or Zip file)
Spreadsheet containing data for the tables A1 and A2 of the paper Quota--Updated Calculations (2006) modified to reflect the new quotas for China, Korea, Mexico, and Turkey. Data include GDP (gross domestic product), official reserves, current payments, current receipts, variability of current receipts, and variability of current receipts plus net capital flows.

August 4, 2006

Consideration of a New Liquidity Instrument for Market Access Countries

Description: The objective of this paper is to consider key issues in the design of a new liquidity instrument for market access countries. It reviews the motivations and challenges of creating such an instrument and lays out options and issues related to four key design elements. Recognizing the need to consider the relationship between these elements, the paper sets out an example of how they might be combined in a lending instrument – called here the Reserve Augmentation Line, or RAL. It also discusses risks.

July 28, 2006

Report on the Incidence of Longer-Term Program Engagement

Description: During the discussion of the conclusions of the Task Force on Prolonged Use of Fund Resources, the Executive Board requested semi annual reports on the incidence of Longer-Term Program Engagement (LTPE). This is the sixth such report which provides information through June 2006.

July 19, 2006

Review of the 1977 Decision on Surveillance Over Exchange Rate Policies - Preliminary Considerations

Description: This review of the Decision forms part of a more comprehensive approach to strengthen the effectiveness of surveillance.

July 19, 2006

Lao People's Democratic Republic - Assessment Letter for the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank

Description: This note provides an update of the assessment of Lao P.D.R.’s macroeconomic conditions and outlook presented at the time of the 2005 Article IV Consultation.

Notes: Assessment letters or statements may be prepared for member countries with Fund-supported programs; receiving Fund emergency assistance; with staff-monitored programs; or surveillance-only cases. They are typically produced for use by the country with multilateral or bilateral donors or creditors, in particular the World Bank and other International Financial Institutions.

July 17, 2006

Sierra Leone - Evaluation of the Technical Assistance Program (November 2001 to November 2004) for the Bank of Sierra Leone

Description: Over the period 2001–2004, Sierra Leone was a major recipient of MFD Technical Assistance, generally among the 10 countries in the world receiving the most assistance. This involvement represented a substantial contribution by the IMF towards the reconstruction of the country after the devastating civil war that ended in 2000.

July 12, 2006

Technical Assistance Evaluation Program - - Findings of Evaluations and Updated Program

Description: This paper is the third to be issued under the Fund's Technical Assistance Evaluation Program, which was launched in FY 2003. It reports on the findings of five completed evaluations, and updates the program of evaluations for FY 2007–2009. The completed evaluations featured in this paper are: (i) an evaluation of technical assistance provided by the Legal Department to Indonesia related to the strengthening of the commercial courts and the implementation of the bankruptcy law; and (ii) evaluations of technical assistance delivered by the Monetary and Financial Systems Department to Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Kosovo to strengthen capacity in the financial sector.

July 5, 2006

Making the Misreporting Policies Less Onerous in De Minimis Cases

Description: The Managing Director's Medium-Term Strategy referred to complex misreporting procedures for even trivial forms of misreporting and called for streamlining. This paper presents a proposal to reduce the burden of the Fund’s misreporting policies in cases involving de minimis deviations from program conditions. The proposal is to consider deviations from a performance criterion or other condition to be de minimis where they are so small as to be trivial with no impact on the assessment of program performance.

June 30, 2006

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Assessment of MFD's Technical Assistance Program

Description: This report summarizes the findings of an evaluation of the technical assistance delivered by MFD to the CBBH. The assessment was conducted during a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina during the period March 15–17, 2006. It covers the period 1997–2005, although MFD TA started earlier: two brief MFD staff visits took place in 1996 to assist the authorities in preparing legislation to establish a currency board and create a market-based central bank.

Notes: The views expressed in this evaluation are of an independent consultant and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IMF.

June 30, 2006

Kosovo - Assessment of MFD's Technical Assistance Program

Description: MFD technical assistance to Kosovo has been provided under special circumstances, since it is not a member of the IMF or of the World Bank. As a region within the former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia severely affected by the war with Serbia, Kosovo has been administered by the UNMIK on the basis of UN Security Council Decision 1244 of June 10, 1999. After the end of the war, the UNMIK requested technical assistance from the IMF. The IMF's Executive Board approved this request, and MFD began providing TA in late 1999.

Notes: The views expressed in this evaluation are of an independent consultant and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IMF.