There is no shortage of opinion about the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Some see it as the agent of austerity, being manipulated by wealthy nations and forcing poorer countries to pursue economic policies that suppress growth and development. A sharply contrasting view regards it as bailing out such countries with large amounts of soft finance, allowing them to avoid necessary adjustment. The challenge is to evaluate the alternative arguments and to distinguish reality from rhetoric.In this book, the authors undertake a careful and detailed empirical analysis of the underlying issues, covering participation in IMF programs, their implementation and effects on economic growth, and on the willingness of international capital markets to lend. Blending research methodologies and crossing conventional disciplinary boundaries, what emerges is a balanced and nuanced assessment of the IMF's operations that confronts many commonly held views. Unique in its broad scope, this careful examination of the IMF will be of great interest to students and academics in the fields of international economics and international relations. Those involved in international financial institutions and national monetary institutions will also find it to be an impartial and illuminating study.

A large and growing academic literature seeks to analyse the key aspects of the International Monetary Fund's operations from both theoretical and empirical perspectives. This two-volume set draws together what are generally acknowledged to be the most important contributions. In the main it focuses on the economics of the IMF but also reflects the fact that a full understanding of the Fund will only be achieved if its political dimensions are also addressed. The collected articles demonstrate the way in which research on the IMF has evolved over time. They cover the role of the IMF, the determinants of IMF lending, conditionality and the implementation and effects of IMF programs, the prolonged use of IMF resources as well as the IMF's own reserve asset, the Special Drawing Right. No serious student of the IMF will want to be without this up-to-date and comprehensive collection.