How can the IMF help in crisis?
Getting a member country's economy back on track
Cut the Electricity Tax


People protesting the job cutsYou want to cut the electricity tax to make the tuna packing plants and other industries more competitive on the export market. You know that cutting this tax will reduce the amount of money the government receives. You ask your finance minister how much this will cost the government, and where government expenditures could be cut to keep them in line with lower revenues. She says, "We can reduce the size of the Civil Service. The government can still operate if we cut some of the Civil Service jobs."

The day after you announce the Civil Service job cuts, workers stage a huge demonstration outside the Presidential Palace. You agree to speak to a representative of the workers. He says, "All these people are supporting many members of their extended families with their government paychecks. If you fire them, thousands more people will suffer."

You realize that this plan will cause major social hardship. You will probably lose the next election if you do this. But inflation is still going up. People can buy less with their money.

What will you do?

  Devalue your currency, the CFA franc, to increase the amount of local currency that exports will sell for.
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