Policy Papers
2021
March 5, 2021
Fifteenth General Review of Quotas— Additional Considerations and Data Update
Description: This paper provides background for a further round of discussions on the Fifteenth General Review of Quotas (hereafter 15th Review). The paper builds on work presented in previous staff papers and Directors’ views expressed in three meetings of the Committee of the Whole in September 2017 and February 2018. No proposals are presented at this stage, pending further Board guidance on possible approaches to narrowing the current differences of views.
February 18, 2021
Review of the Adequacy of the Fund’s Precautionary Balances
Description: On October 30, 2020, the IMF’s Executive Board reviewed the adequacy of the Fund’s precautionary balances. Precautionary balances, comprising the Fund’s general and special reserves and the Special Contingent Account (SCA-1), are one element of the IMF’s multi-layered framework for managing financial risks. These balances provide a buffer to protect the Fund against potential losses, resulting from credit, income, and other financial risks. This review of the adequacy of the Fund’s precautionary balances took place on the standard two-year cycle, although it was delayed by a few months to allow for an assessment of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Fund financial risks. In conducting the review, the Executive Board applied the rules-based framework agreed in 2010.
February 8, 2021
Supplement to the Guidance Note for Surveillance Under Article IV Consultations
Description: This note provides updated guidance to country teams on bilateral surveillance in the context of Article IV consultations in light of the COVID crisis. This guidance impacts the focus, format and presentation of staff reports while keeping intact the substance of all existing Board-endorsed requirements. Similarly, all aspects of the comprehensive 2015 Guidance Note for Surveillance Under Article IV Consultations also remain in effect, except as modified below. This supplement aims to strengthen the focus of Fund surveillance on the fallout from the crisis and related challenges flexibly to adapt to a rapidly evolving context and will remain in effect, in the absence of further communication, until comprehensive new guidance is issued following the completion of the upcoming Comprehensive Surveillance Review.
February 3, 2021
Review of The Debt Sustainability Framework For Market Access Countries
Description: A careful review has revealed significant scope to modernize and better align the MAC DSA with its objectives and the IMF’s lending framework. This note proposes replacing the current framework with a new methodology based on risk assessments at three different horizons. Extensive testing has shown that the proposed framework has much better predictive accuracy than the current one. In addition to predicting sovereign stress, the framework can be used to derive statements about debt stabilization under current policies and about debt sustainability.
February 2, 2021
Measuring the Informal Economy
Description: This paper proposes a framework for measuring the informal economy that is consistent with internationally agreed concepts and methodology for measuring GDP. Based on the proposed framework, the informal economy “comprises production of informal sector units, production of goods for own final use, production of domestic workers, and production generated by informal employment in formal enterprises.” This proposed framework will facilitate preparation of estimates of the informal economy as a component of GDP.
January 14, 2021
Statement by the Managing Director on the Work Program of the Executive Board Executive Board Meeting: December 10, 2020
Description: As the COVID-19 crisis continues to unfold, uncertainty remains exceptionally high. The Fund has provided extraordinary financial support as well as timely analysis and policy advice during the first phase of the crisis, but additional efforts are needed to help members secure a durable exit, minimize long-term scarring, and build a more sustainable and resilient economy. Against this backdrop, and in line with the strategic directions laid out in the Fall 2020 Global Policy Agenda and the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) Communiqué, this Work Program puts forward a prioritized Board agenda for December 2020 to June 2021, focused on activities of most critical importance to our members.
2020
December 14, 2020
Update on the Joint IMF-WB Multipronged Approach to Address Debt Vulnerabilities
Description: Amid rising debt risks in low-income developing countries and emerging markets, the IMF and the WB have been implementing a multipronged approach (MPA) to address debt vulnerabilities. Amplification of debt risks owing to COVID-19 has upped the urgency to implement the MPA and highlights the importance of debt sustainability and transparency for long-term financing for development. At the same time, it should be noted that countries have limited capacities which are further stretched by COVID-19 and that implementation of the MPA by itself may not be sufficient to address debt vulnerabilities and risks from global economic shocks.
December 10, 2020
Economic Prospects and Policy Challenges for the GCC Countries
Description: The COVID-19 pandemic is having far-reaching consequences for the global economy. Measures to contain the spread of the virus have led to sharp declines in economic activity across the globe, particularly in 2020Q2. The hardest hit sectors have been those requiring intensive human contact, such as tourism, transportation, services, and construction, while, in general, IT-intensive activities have fared better. The economic contraction is most significant in advanced economies. The GCC countries face a double impact from the coronavirus and lower oil prices. GCC authorities have implemented a range of appropriate measures to mitigate the economic damage, including fiscal packages, relaxation of monetary and macroprudential rules, and the injection of liquidity into the banking system, and there are recent signs of improvement. Low oil prices have caused a sharp deterioration of external and fiscal balances, and fiscal strains are evident in countries with higher debt levels.
December 4, 2020
The Fund’s Income Position For FY 2020 -- Actual Outcome
Description: This paper reports on the Fund’s income position for FY 2020 following the closing of the Fund’s accounts for the financial year and completion of the external audit. Net operational income was about SDR 1.4 billion, slightly higher than estimated in the April supplement, mainly reflecting higher investment income. However, the unrealized pension-related adjustment in FY 2020, stemming mainly from the actuarial remeasurement of staff retirement plan assets and liabilities, was larger than previously estimated and more than offset the Fund’s net operational income, contributing to an overall net loss of about SDR 1.4 billion for the year.
November 24, 2020
Statement by the Managing Director on the Independent Evaluation Office Report on IMF Collaboration with the World Bank on Macro-Structural Issues; June 15, 2020
Description: Statement by the Managing Director on the Independent Evaluation Office Report on IMF Collaboration with the World Bank on Macro-Structural Issues