Join us for the launch of a study on…..
Standing in the Way of Development?
A critical survey of the IMF’s crisis response in low income countries
by Eurodad and Third World Network
in cooperation with the Heinrich Boell Foundation
Authored by:
The School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS)
Tuesday, April 20, 2010 from 10:00 to 11:30AM
Union Station Business Center
Executive Conference Center, 10 G Street, NE, 7th floor, Washington, DC 20002
(Located directly next to and on the West side of Union Station)
RSVP: Nancy Alexander, Heinrich Boell Foundation: alexander@boell.org, 202-462-7514
Panelists:
Dr. Elisa Van Waeyenberge, Co-Author of the Report and Lecturer in the Economics Department at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.
Mr. Abebe Selassie, Senior Advisor/Mission Chief for South Africa in the Africa Department
Discussant: Professor Tony Killick, Senior Research Associate of the Overseas Development Institute, London, and consultant on development policy issues
Ms. Nuria Molina, Moderator, Executive Director, European Network on Debt and Development (EURODAD)
The Study: In an effort to respond to the global crisis, the G20 dramatically strengthened the IMF’s role in developing countries, including low income countries (LICs). The IMF programs shape the long-term development prospects of these countries, despite the fact that the institution lacks the mandate or the capacity to fill this role. Critics agree that historically the IMF has taken a one-size-fits-all approach to policy advice which has favoured austere fiscal and monetary policies over growth and development. Has this changed? To examine the evidence, the authors assessed a sample of IMF programmes in LICs and found that while the IMF has changed the design of some of its policies, the focus remains that of macroeconomic stability, at the expense of development.