22 research outputs found
International demands for austerity: examining the impact of the IMF on the public sector
What effects do International Monetary Fund (IMF) loans have on borrow-ing countries? Even after decades of research, no consensus exists. We offer a straight-forward explanation for the seemingly mixed effects of IMF loans. We argue thatdifferent loans have different effects because of the varied conditions attached to IMFfinancing. To demonstrate this point, we investigate IMF loans with and withoutconditions that require public sector reforms in exchange for financing. We find thatthe addition of a public sector reform condition to a countryâs IMF program signifi-cantly reduces government spending on the public sector wage bill. This evidencesuggest that conditions are a key mechanism linking IMF lending to policy outcomes.Although IMF loans with public sector conditions prompt cuts to the wage bill in theshort-term, these cuts do not persist in the longer-term. Borrowers backslide oninternationally mandated spending cuts in response to domestic political pressures
Eksistensi Pemikiran Rasionalitas Formal: Refleksi Tentang Penegakan Hukum di Indonesia
Eksistensi Pemikiran Rasionalitas Formal: Refleksi Tentang Penegakan Hukum Di Indonesi
Evaluating the impact of IMF programs: A comparison of matching and instrumental-variable estimators
IMF programs, program evaluation, sample selection bias,
The European rescue of the Washington Consensus? EU and IMF lending to Central and Eastern European countries
The latest global financial crisis has allowed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) a spectacular comeback. But despite its notorious reputation as a staunch advocate of restrictive economic policies, the Fund has displayed less preference for austerity in recent crisis lending. Though widely welcomed as overdue, the IMFâs shift away from what John Williamson coined the âWashington Consensusâ was met with resistance from the European Union (EU) where it concerned Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. The situation of hard-hit Hungary, Latvia, and Romania propelled unprecedented cooperation between the IMF and the EU, in which the EU has very actively promoted orthodox measures in return for loans. We argue that this represents a European rescue of the Washington Consensus. The case of Latvia is paradigmatic for the profound disagreements between an austerity-demanding EU and a less austere IMF. The IMFâs stance contradicts conventional wisdom about the organization as the guardian of economic orthodoxy. To solve this puzzle, we shed light on three complementary factors of (non)learning that have shaped the EUâs relations vis-Ă -vis CEE borrowing countries in comparison to the IMFâs: (1) a disadvantageous institutional setting; (2) vociferous creditor coalitions; (3) the precarious eurozone project