Policy Papers
2006
June 19, 2006
Country Insurance - The Role of Domestic Policies
Description: Member countries are routinely faced with a range of shocks that can contribute to higher volatility in aggregate output and, in extreme cases, to economic crises. The presence of such risks underlies a potential demand for mechanisms to soften the blow from adverse economic shocks -- “country insurance” for short. Protective measures that countries can take themselves (“self-insurance”) include sound economic policies, robust financial structures, and adequate reserve coverage. Beyond self insurance, countries have also established regional arrangements that pool risks, while at the multilateral level the IMF has a central role in making its resources temporarily available to attenuate the costs of economic adjustment when shocks create balance of payments difficulties for a member. This paper analyzes a number of mechanisms through which countries can self-insure, leaving the role of collective regional and multilateral arrangements to subsequent papers.
Notes: This is a discussion paper prepared by IMF staff. It is not a policy paper of the International Monetary Fund, and any positions taken should not be attributed to the Executive Board or management of the IMF. This paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.
May 26, 2006
Article VIII Acceptance by IMF Members - Recent Trends and Implications for the Fund
Description: This paper reports on the work undertaken in this area since the 1992 review and seeks to encourage further progress in current account liberalization among the membership. Section II provides an overview of the legal framework; Section III studies recent trends in members’ acceptance of Article VIII obligations, and analyzes the factors underlying these trends; Section IV outlines the possible economic (and financial) benefits of current account liberalization for Fund members; finally, Section V lays out the implications for surveillance, the enforcement of compliance with Article VIII obligations and technical assistance.
April 20, 2006
Report on Access to Fund Resources During 2005
Description: In the context of a relatively benign international environment with limited balance of payments needs, recourse to Fund resources has declined across several dimensions: fewer GRA arrangements; lower outstanding Fund resources; and a smaller average access under new PRGF arrangements.
April 20, 2006
Report of the Managing Director to the International Monetary and Financial Committee on the IMF's Policy Agenda
Description: This report provides an update of the work and direction of the Fund since the 2005 Annual Meetings. Over the past six months, a principal area of work has been the development of concrete proposals for the implementation of the Managing Director’s Report on the Fund’s Medium-Term Strategy, endorsed by the IMFC last September.
April 20, 2006
Managing Director's Statement to the Development Committee
Description: A Statement from the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Rodrigo de Rato, for the Committee's seventy-third meeting to be held in Washington, D.C., on Sunday, April 23, 2006.
April 20, 2006
Provisional Agenda for the Thirteenth Meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee
April 18, 2006
Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism - Review of the Quality and Consistency of Assessment Reports and the Effectiveness of Coordination
Description: This paper responds to a request from Executive Directors to review the quality and consistency of anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) assessment reports prepared by the Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF) and FATF style regional bodies (FSRBs), and the effectiveness of coordination with FATF/FSRBs. The review found a high degree of variability in the quality and consistency of reports prepared by the different assessor bodies as well as within the same assessor group. While a large majority of reports were of high- or medium quality with respect to key components of the assessments, the treatment of ratings gave rise to greater problems. A number of initiatives have been taken or are underway to improve the quality and consistency of assessments by all assessor bodies, including: the standardization of documentation, the strengthening of peer/internal reviews, and the intensification of assessor training.
April 18, 2006
Progress Report to the International Monetary and Financial Committee on Fund Initiatives to Promote Avian Flu Preparedness
Description: There is widespread concern about the possibility of an avian flu pandemic and its implications for humans, and for the global economic and financial system. While the H5N1 virus cannot transmit efficiently from human to human in its present form, a mutation allowing such transmission could lead to a pandemic that might have high costs. Accordingly, the Fund has been active in raising awareness about the potential economic and financial risks of a pandemic, and in helping member countries to undertake contingency planning in their financial sectors.
April 14, 2006
Establishment of the Investment Account
Description: This paper summarizes the relevant considerations and presents decisions for the establishment of an Investment Account (IA). Executive Directors considered an analysis of the establishment and operations of an IA in September 2005. During the discussion in March 2006 of the medium-term outlook for the Fund’s income, Directors requested staff to return to the Board with a paper proposing decisions on the establishment of an IA.