Policy Papers
2020
October 14, 2020
Progress Report to The IMFC On the Activities Of The Independent Evaluation Office Of The IMF: October 9, 2020
Description: The IEO is advancing its work program while adapting to the challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. While evaluation is not part of the frontline response that has dominated IMF activity over the past six months, independent evaluation remains a key function for learning from experience and drawing lessons for the Fund as it focuses on meeting members’ urgent and evolving needs. Since April, IEO engagement with the Executive Board has resumed, including formal discussion of the recently completed evaluation of IMF Advice on Capital Flows and an informal seminar on Bank-Fund collaboration on climate issues. Work continues on evaluations of adjustment and growth in IMF-supported programs and IMF engagement with small states, and a new evaluation is being launched on IMF capacity development.
October 8, 2020
Toward an Integrated Policy Framework
Description: Policymakers often face difficult tradeoffs in pursuing domestic and external stabilization objectives. The paper reflects staff’s work to advance the understanding of the policy options and tradeoffs available to policymakers in a systematic and analytical way. The paper recognizes that the optimal path of the IPF tools depends on structural characteristics and fiscal policies. The operational implications of IPF findings require careful consideration. Developing safeguards to minimize the risk of inappropriate use of IPF policies will be essential. Staff remains guided by the Fund’s Institutional View (IV) on the Liberalization and Management of Capital Flows.
October 5, 2020
Review of Enhanced Access Limits Under the Rapid Credit Facility and Rapid Financing Instrument
Description: The temporary increase in access limits under IMF emergency financing instruments will expire on October 5, 2020, unless extended. Access limits under emergency instruments (the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) and Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI)) were increased in April 2020 for a period of six months, from 50 to 100 percent of quota annually and from 100 to 150 percent of quota cumulatively. The increased limits are subject to review and can be extended before their expiration. It is proposed to extend the period of higher access limits for emergency financing for a period of six months, through April 6, 2021. Against a background of continued pandemic-related disruption, staff expects there could be significant demand for emergency lending in the October 2020–April 2021 period, including from countries with pending requests and from countries that received emergency support at levels less than the maximum amounts available. A six-month extension would give more time for countries to benefit from higher access limits under emergency financing.
October 5, 2020
Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust—Second Tranche Of Debt Service Relief In The Context Of The COVID-19 Pandemic
Description: This paper proposes that the Executive Board approve the disbursement of a second 6-month tranche of CCRT debt service relief to 28 of the 29 members, covering the period October 14, 2020 through April 13, 2021, given staff’s assessment that sufficient financial resources are available.2 In this context, the paper also provides brief updates for each beneficiary country on its policy responses to the pandemic and staff’s assessment of these policies and the use of resources freed up by debt service relief. It also provides an update on the finances of the CCRT and the fundraising efforts to secure adequate resources for grant assistance in the future. Based on grant pledges to date, resources are not sufficient to extend CCRT relief beyond the proposed second sixth-month period.
October 1, 2020
The International Architecture for Resolving Sovereign Debt Involving Private-Sector Creditors—Recent Developments, Challenges, And Reform Options
Description: There have been significant developments in sovereign debt restructuring involving private-sector creditors since the IMF’s last stocktaking in 2014. While the current contractual approach has been largely effective in resolving sovereign debt cases since 2014, it has gaps that could pose challenges in future restructurings.
September 30, 2020
Statement by the Managing Director on the Independent Evaluation Office Report on IMF Advice on Capital Flows Executive Board Meeting September 18, 2020
Description: As noted in the report, the adoption of the IV represented a major advance in the IMF’s policy framework to provide advice on capital account liberalization and the management of capital flows. Before the adoption of the IV, there was no consistent framework to guide policy advice on these areas. The IV was a major step towards filling the gap existing at the time. It welcomed the economic benefits of capital flows while recognizing the risks associated with capital flow volatility, developed a playbook for safe capital account liberalization, and incorporated capital flow management measures (CFMs) into the policy toolkit. It also noted the importance of international cooperation on capital flow policies in allowing countries to harness the benefits of capital flows safely, while minimizing negative spillovers. It was a demonstration of the institution’s flexibility and willingness to embrace theoretical advances and lessons from experience.
September 30, 2020
The Chair’s Summing Up Independent Evaluation Office - IMF advice on Capital Flows Executive Board Meeting 20/93 September 18, 2020
Description: Executive Directors welcomed the report of the Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) on IMF Advice on Capital Flows. Directors appreciated the high quality of the report, and its thematic and background country studies. Directors welcomed the finding that the adoption of the Institutional View (IV), along with the development of other frameworks and additional tools, had represented a major advance in the Fund’s policy framework to provide systematic advice to member countries on the management of capital flows and capital account liberalization. Directors also noted the conclusion that, in its application, the Fund had generally followed the IV and other policy frameworks to ensure that the advice was consistent, tailored to country circumstances, and evenhanded across countries. Directors welcomed that capital flow management measures (CFMs) have generally not been used to substitute for warranted policy adjustments. Directors also welcomed the finding that most authorities broadly support the IV’s sequenced framework to capital account liberalization and appreciated the Fund’s specific advice in many cases, especially in the context of technical assistance. More recently, faced with the abrupt capital flow reversals during the COVID-19 crisis, Directors noted that emerging markets and developing economies generally followed a multi-pronged approach broadly consistent with the IV framework and made relatively little use of CFMs.
September 24, 2020
Updated Common Evaluation Framework For IMF Capacity Development And Guidance Note
Description: This document updates the Common Evaluation Framework (CEF) for the Fund’s capacity development (CD) activities and provides practical guidance on its implementation. Since its adoption, the Fund has made progress in implementing the CEF. However, areas for improvement remain. The document aims to address these areas, drawing on lessons from experience with evaluations since the CEF’s adoption.
September 18, 2020
Policy Safeguards For Countries Seeking Access To Fund Financial Support That Would Lead To High Levels Of Combined GRA-PRGT Exposure
Description: This paper proposes safeguards broadly aligned with the GRA exceptional access policy that will apply in cases where combined GRA and PRGT credit exposure exceeds the GRA thresholds. The new safeguards would help to mitigate financial risks to the PRGT and the GRA, respectively, that arise from a member having high levels of combined credit from these two sources of funding. The proposed policy builds on the current policies on safeguards to Fund resources (both the Fund’s resources in the GRA and under the PRGT as Trustee, respectively).
July 30, 2020
Policy Papers: The Central Bank Transparency Code
Description: The paper reports to the Executive Board on its decision of April 29, 2019, to prepare an IMF Central Bank Transparency Code (CBT), which is linked to the 2017 Review of the Standards and Codes Initiative (RSCI), for a revision and update of the 1999 Monetary and Financial Policies Transparency Code (MFPT). Directors asked that the CBT should remove the overlap on financial policies covered by other international standards, expand the transparency standards to broader set of activities undertaken by many central banks since the 2008 financial crisis, and reorient the transparency standards to facilitate risk-based assessments to support policy effectiveness and address macroeconomic risks.