Imf

The International Monetary Fund, or the IMF, is an international organization made up of 184 member countries. ?It was established to promote international monetary cooperation, exchange stability, and orderly exchange arrangements; to foster economic growth and high levels of employment; and to provide temporary financial assistance to countries to help ease balance of payments adjustment.? The IMF, according to developing countries, is often viewed as an interfering force that insists on ?austere economic policies?. The International Monetary Fund, a type of system controlled by the prosperous countries, can often be seen as being used as a scapegoat for the distressing adjustment processes suffered by developing countries. The IMF?s economic adjustment formulas are, in theory, correct, and the organization?s general goals are positive. However, the IMF?s policies do not take into account the economic and social circumstances that currently exist in the countries where it is applied to. This is basically what Joseph E. Stiglitz writes about in his book Globalization and its Discontents.

?The fund believes it is fulfilling the tasks assigned to it: promoting global stability, helping developing countries in transition achieve not only stability but also growth.? ?I believe, however, that it has failed in its mission, that the failures are not just accidental but the consequences of how it has understood its mission.? This is what Stiglitz states in his book, and is also his platform on how he feels about the International Monetary Fund. He believes that the IMF has a narrow view stating that ?what the financial community views as good for the global economy is good for the global economy and should be done?. Stiglitz criticizes that the IMF has done great damage to the countries wherein they prescribe economic policies that must be followed in order to qualify for an IMF loan, or for loans from banks and other private-sector lenders that look to the...