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Call for Consultation
Consultation on the IMF’s 2014 Triennial Surveillance Review
Last Updated June 2014
The IMF thanks the organizations and individuals who have provided comments during the online consultation on the 2014 Triennial Surveillance Review (TSR). The online consultation ended on April 30, 2014. Written comments submitted during February 24 - April 30, 2014 are now available. If you have any questions, please send an e-mail to IMFConsultation@imf.org.
Background
Triennial Surveillance Reviews (TSR) examine how the IMF conducts its economic and financial analysis and formulates policy advice, in order to make recommendations for improvement. The latest TSR was completed by the IMF’s Executive Board in October 2011.
The 2011 TSR found that although Fund advice was seen as timely and responsive during the crisis, surveillance before the crisis suffered from a number of weaknesses. In particular, the IMF needed to do more to promote interconnectedness, risk analysis, financial stability, external assessments, and the traction of surveillance. In response, the Managing Director proposed an action plan to make surveillance more effective, candid, and evenhanded.
Since 2011, the Fund has taken a number of steps to improve surveillance. These include (i) a reform of the legal framework so the Fund can better examine outward spillovers onto the global economy; (ii) the introduction of risk assessment matrices in country staff reports and deeper analysis of risks; (iii) development of a financial surveillance strategy to improve risk identification and policy analysis, to foster greater integration of instruments and products, and to engage more actively with stakeholders; (iv) and the publication of Pilot External Sector Reports that provide a multilaterally consistent analysis of the external positions of major world economies.
Goals for the 2014 TSR
Under the overarching objective of strengthening the effectiveness and traction of Fund surveillance, the 2014 TSR will take stock of the extent to which the new initiatives introduced after the 2011 review are serving the Fund’s commitments to the membership. Specifically, the TSR will consider how effectively the Fund is implementing the new surveillance framework, and how it can respond to new policy challenges. The review will also examine the evenhandedness of Fund surveillance and consider possible recommendations to strengthen this aspect of surveillance.
Like the last TSR, the 2014 review will base its findings and recommendations on a wide range of research and feedback. These include in-depth staff studies, evaluation of country reports, stakeholder surveys and consultations, interviews, and studies by external consultants. The review’s findings and recommendations will be assessed by an independent External Advisory Group.
Issues for discussion
We would welcome CSOs’ comment(s) on any or all aspects of the IMF’s surveillance We would also appreciate views, in particular, on the following issues:
- In your view, has IMF surveillance improved in recent years? Has there been more focus on risks and the spillover effects of countries’ policies? What more can be done to strengthen the Fund’s assessment of risks and spillovers?
- In your view, has the IMF conducted a deeper analysis of financial sector stability and a better assessment of external sector stability in recent years?
- How do you assess the contribution of IMF surveillance to the (country and global) policy debate? More specifically, has Fund advice been sufficiently tailored to individual countries’ priorities and needs? And are you satisfied with the timeliness and quality of the Fund’s analysis/views of policy issues that have systemic implications? What can the Fund do better/more of/differently in adding value to the (country and global) policy dialogue?
- How do you define evenhandedness of Fund policy advice? Do you believe Fund policy advice has been evenhanded across the membership? And have there been significant changes in this respect in recent years? What is your view regarding the Fund’s ability and willingness to listen and take into account country authorities’ views in policy discussions?
- What do you see as the main strengths and weaknesses of IMF surveillance? What do you see as the biggest challenges facing surveillance and how could these be addressed? What specific measures would you suggest to help improve IMF surveillance?
How to participate
The IMF Civil Society Team will receive your comments and post a summary of the comments received by May 15, 2014. Senders can request for their comments to be private. Please submit your comments through the following channels:
- E-mail: IMFConsultation@imf.org
- Fax: +1 202 623 6220
Please include the following information so that your comments can be registered: name of sender; organization you represent; address; country; phone number; and e-mail address.
Comments should be submitted no later than April 30, 2014.
We look forward to hearing from you.
