Provide member countries advice on adopting policies to achieve macroeconomic stability, accelerate economic growth, and alleviate poverty.
Make financing available to member countries to help address balance of payments problems, including foreign exchange shortages that occur when external payments exceed foreign exchange earnings.
Offer technical assistance and training, when requested, to help member countries build and strengthen their expertise and institutions to implement sound economic policies.
IMF headquarters is in Washington, DC, and its offices around the world aim to promote the IMF’s global reach and maintain close ties with its members. For more information on the IMF and its member countries, visit www.imf.org.
The global economy is at a delicate moment. The expansion of early 2018 has lost momentum, in large part in response to rising trade tensions. There are threats from rising financial vulnerabilities and geopolitical uncertainties. These challenges call for policymakers to avoid missteps and to take the right policy steps: at home, across borders, and globally.
First and foremost, policies must create conditions for people to succeed. Smarter fiscal policies can reduce inequality by striking the right balance between growth, debt sustainability, and social protection. Appropriately calibrated structural reforms can boost productivity and long-term, inclusive growth, which is especially important for those who have been left behind. Tackling corruption in its various forms will be critical to governments’ ability to build infrastructure and to expand public services. It will also help restore trust.
No issue looms larger on the global stage than trade. Over the years, trade integration has brought enormous benefits around the world. But not everyone has benefitted, and there are distortions in the trade system that need to be reformed. Collective action is important to uphold and modernize the international trade system.
It is also time to rethink the international architecture for corporate taxation to make it more fair, reflect changes in the global economy, and serve the interests of emerging and developing countries. Finally, countries must work together to confront common challenges: from climate change to rapid technological change.
As can be seen from this Annual Report, our Board of Executive Directors and staff are hard at work serving the IMF membership—with policy advice, lending programs, and capacity development. In addition to several major reviews looking at IMF conditionality, economic and financial surveillance, and lending facilities, we have deepened our analysis on trade spillovers and financial stability, and are revamping our frameworks for debt sustainability assessment in low-income and market access countries. We have stepped up our analysis of financial technology, the digital economy, and the future of work, and mainstreamed our work on inequality and gender issues. We continue to engage with our members in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Recently, our Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, has decided to move on to new challenges. During her eight years at the helm, the IMF has been transformed—in purpose, in effectiveness, and in reputation. Her vision and commitment came at a crucial moment for the global economy. I take this opportunity to thank her for her stellar leadership of our institution. I am confident that with the right policies and by working together, the IMF can continue to help our members steer the global economy through this delicate moment.
David Lipton First Deputy Managing Director
David Lipton
First Deputy Managing Director
Joint Responsibility, Shared Rewards
Amid rising economic, financial, and political uncertainty, the IMF has intensified its effort to support international cooperation while responding to its member needs. Over the past year, IMF policy advice has focused on the following:
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a global organization of 189 member countries set up to promote the health of the world economy. It works to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world. The IMF, which oversees the international monetary system to ensure its effective operation, has among its key purposes to promote exchange rate stability and to facilitate the expansion and balanced growth of international trade. The IMF’s mission enables countries (and their citizens) to buy goods and services from one another and is essential for achieving sustainable economic growth and raising living standards. All IMF member countries are represented on its Executive Board, which discusses the national, regional, and global consequences of each member’s economic policies and approves IMF loans to help member countries address temporary balance of payments problems, as well as capacity-building efforts. This Annual Report covers the activities of the Executive Board and IMF management and staff during the financial year May 1, 2018, through April 30, 2019. The contents reflect the views and policy discussions of the IMF Executive Board, which has actively participated in the preparation of this Annual Report.
