Policy Papers
2016
November 7, 2016
Capital Flows - Review of Experience with the Institutional View
Description: Capital flows are an important aspect of the international monetary system. They provide significant benefits, both direct and indirect. At the same time, they also carry risks, and a key challenge for countries is how to harness the benefits while managing the risks. The institutional view on the liberalization and management of capital flows provides the Fund with a basis for consistent advice on policies related to capital flows. This paper reviews countries’ experiences with handling capital flows in the period since the adoption of the IMF’s institutional view in 2012. Based on the experience, it identifies a few areas in which the view would benefit from further clarification or elaboration.
November 7, 2016
Statement by the Managing Director on the Work Program of the Executive Board - Executive Board Meeting - November 16, 2016
Description: This Work Program (WP) translates the policy priorities and strategic directions laid out in the Fall 2016 Global Policy Agenda (GPA) and the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) Communiqué into an Executive Board agenda for the next six-twelve months. The Managing Director’s GPA called on members to use a balanced mix of all policy tools to revive demand and raise productivity, and ensure that gains from technology and globalization are shared more broadly. The GPA also warned against retreating from multilateralism at a time when cooperation and coordination are critical. It outlined how the Fund would support the membership by helping policymakers identify policy space and enhance resilience; assisting in understanding and tackling the underlying causes of low productivity growth; supporting members to expand economic opportunities—including by ensuring adequate and effective safety nets; and advocating for multilateralism that works for all. Where the work extends beyond traditional areas, the WP will focus on issues with a macro-economic impact that are systemically important or relevant for many and amenable to change through economic policies.
November 7, 2016
Small States' Resilience to Natural Disasters and Climate Change - Role for the IMF
Description: Small developing states are disproportionately vulnerable to natural disasters. On average, the annual cost of disasters for small states is nearly 2 percent of GDP—more than four times that for larger countries. This reflects a higher frequency of disasters, adjusted for land area, as well as greater vulnerability to severe disasters. About 9 percent of disasters in small states involve damage of more than 30 percent of GDP, compared to less than 1 percent for larger states. Greater exposure to disasters has important macroeconomic effects on small states, resulting in lower investment, lower GDP per capita, higher poverty, and a more volatile revenue base. Read more
November 2, 2016
Fifteenth General Review of Quotas - Report of the Executive Board to the Board of Governors
Description: In the report, the Executive Board proposes that the Board of Governors adopt a Resolution: (i) noting the Report of the Executive Board and expressing regret that the timetable for completing the Fifteenth Review established under Resolution No. 71-2 is no longer within reach; (ii) calling on the Executive Board to work on the Fifteenth Review expeditiously in line with existing Executive Board understandings and the guidance provided by the IMFC on October 8, 2016 with the aim of completing the Fifteenth Review by the 2019 Spring Meetings and no later than the 2019 Annual Meetings; (iii) requesting that the Executive Board report on progress on the Fifteenth Review to the Board of Governors semiannually, with a first report by the 2017 Annual Meetings; and (iv) urging the remaining members who have not yet consented to their quota increases under the Fourteenth General Review of Quotas to do so without further delay and urging the members who have consented to their quota increases to make their quota payments in a timely manner.
October 27, 2016
Implementation Plan in Response to the Board-Endorsed Recommendations for the IEO Report “Behind the Scenes with Data at the IMF: An IEO Evaluation”
Description:
This paper sets out Management’s response to the Independent Evaluation Office’s (IEO) report entitled Behind the Scenes with Data at the IMF: An IEO Evaluation.
The implementation plan proposes specific actions to address the recommendations of the IEO that were endorsed by the Board in its March 17, 2016 discussion of the IEO’s report, namely: (i) develop a long-term strategy for data and statistics at the Fund;
(ii) define and prioritize the Fund’s data needs and support data provision by member countries accordingly; (iii) reconsider the role and mandate of the Statistics Department; (iv) reexamine the staff’s structure of incentives in the area of data management;
(v) make clear the limits of IMF responsibility regarding the quality of disseminated data, and clarify the distinction between “IMF data” and “official data.”
The implementation of some of these proposed actions is already underway. The paper also explains how implementation will be monitored.
October 25, 2016
Financing for Development: Enhancing the Financial Safety Net for Developing Countries---Further Considerations
Description:
PRGT-eligible members make considerable use of Fund concessional financing. Since 2010, 56 percent of Fund arrangements have involved a PRGT-facility.
This paper examines a number of issues raised by Executive Directors and the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) since the issuance to the Board of the June 2015 staff paper on enhancing the financial safety net for developing countries (IMF, 2015a).
This paper concludes that there is a need to clarify guidance in some areas pertaining to PRGT policies. This will be done through an early revision of the LIC Handbook, which is already underway. The paper does not propose changes to the Fund’s concessional facilities at this juncture. A comprehensive review of PRGT (Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust) resources and facilities is planned for 2018.
October 21, 2016
New Arrangements to Borrow - Proposed Renewal of and Modifications to the NAB Decision
Description: The Fund’s decision on the New Arrangements to Borrow (the “NAB”), as amended, (the “NAB Decision”) is subject to renewals not later than 12 months before the end of each NAB period, with the current period set to expire on November 16, 2017. The NAB Decision was last renewed for a five-year period in November 2012. Pursuant to paragraph 19(a) of the NAB Decision, the Executive Board is to take a decision on the renewal no later than twelve months before the end of the NAB Decision, i.e., by November 16, 2016.1 Once a decision on renewal is taken, the new NAB period would become effective on November 17, 2017. In renewing the NAB Decision, the Fund and NAB participants are to review the functioning of the NAB Decision and, in particular, the experience with the procedures for activation. Modifications of the NAB Decision could be made at the time of renewal.
October 19, 2016
Method of Collecting Exchange Rates for the Calculation of the Value of the SDR for the purposes of Rule 0-2(a)
Description: This paper proposes modifications to the method of collecting exchange rates for the calculation of the value of the SDR for the purposes of Rule O-2(a). The value of the SDR in terms of the U.S. dollar is determined daily as the sum of the equivalents in U. S. dollar values of the amounts of the currencies that comprise the SDR valuation basket (as provided in Rule O-1), calculated on the basis of exchange rates established in accordance with procedures decided from time to time by the Fund.1 The current procedures are set out in Decision No. 6709-(80/189) S, as amended by Decision No. 12157-(00/24) S, March 9, 2000 (see Annex), which specifies the method for collecting exchange rates for this purpose. Under these procedures, the relevant currency amounts are converted into U.S. dollars using daily exchange rates that are provided to the Fund by the Bank of England (BoE). If rates cannot be obtained from the BoE, they are provided by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) and, if not available there, by the European Central Bank (ECB). The BoE, FRBNY, and ECB intend to rely on a new, more robust methodology to provide exchange rates to the Fund after November 1, 2016, and the proposed modifications reflect these changes.
October 12, 2016
Key Trends in Implementing the Fund's Transparency Policy
Description: At the time of the 2005 Review of the Fund’s Transparency Policy, the Executive Board requested regular updates on trends in implementing the transparency policy. The tables in this report provide an overview of recent developments, reflecting information on documents considered by the Board in 2016 and updating the previous annual report on Key Trends. Deeper analysis of these trends is undertaken in the context of periodic reviews of the Fund’s Transparency Policy.
October 12, 2016
Tax Policy, Leverage and Macroeconomic Stability
Description:
Risks to macroeconomic stability posed by excessive private leverage are significantly amplified by tax distortions. ‘Debt bias’ (tax provisions favoring finance by debt rather than equity) has increased leverage in both the household and corporate sectors, and is now widely recognized as a significant macroeconomic concern.
This paper presents new evidence of the extent of debt bias, including estimates for banks and non-bank financial institutions both before and after the global financial crisis. It presents policy options to alleviate debt bias, and assesses their effectiveness. The paper finds that thin capitalization rules restricting interest deductibility have only partially been able to address debt bias, but that an allowance for corporate equity has generally proved effective. The paper concludes that debt bias should feature prominently in countries’ tax reform plans in the coming years.