Policy Papers
2015
June 15, 2015
Financing For Development - Revisiting the Monterrey Consensus
Description: 2015 is set to be a pivotal year for the international development agenda, with agreements to be reached on the objectives and policies for promoting development that is economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable through 2030. The first stage in completing the debate on these issues is the Third UN Conference on Financing for Development (FfD), to be held in Addis Ababa during July 13–16, 2015, which aims to build an international consensus on the actions needed to ensure that sufficient financing is available for developing countries in pursuing sustainable development.
June 12, 2015
Balance Sheet Analysis in Fund Surveillance
Description:
Balance sheets convey vital information about economic prospects and risks. Balance sheet analysis captures the role that financial frictions and mismatches play in creating fragility and amplifying shocks. This is key to understanding the macroeconomic outlook, identifying vulnerabilities, and tracing the transmission of potential shocks and policies.
This paper reviews the use of balance sheet analysis in the Fund’s bilateral surveillance and introduces some practical examples of how it can be deepened. Recent evaluations of IMF surveillance––including the 2014 TSR––have emphasized the importance of strengthening balance sheet analysis and coverage of macro-financial issues. This paper is a first step that highlights useful examples of such analysis conducted by staff over the last decade, documents the data and tools that have been used, and mentions some limitations. In addition, it discusses recent improvements in the coverage and quality of balance sheet data through initiatives launched in the wake of the global crisis, as well as key remaining gaps, addressing which requires international collaboration.
June 11, 2015
Financing for Development - Enhancing the Financial Safety Net for Developing Countries
Description:
Access to Fund financial resources provides a financial safety net to help countries manage adverse shocks, acting as a potential supplement to foreign reserves when there is a balance of payments need. Such support is especially important to developing countries with limited capacity to borrow in domestic or foreign markets.
This paper proposes a set of measures that would expand access to Fund resources for developing countries, as one of the initiatives the Fund is undertaking as part of the wider effort of the international community to support countries in pursuing the post- 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
June 11, 2015
Extension of the Period for Consent to Increase Quotas Under the Fourteenth General Review of Quotas, the 2008 Reform of Quota and Voice, and the Eleventh General Review of Quotas
Description:
This paper proposes a further six-month extension of the period for consent to increase quotas under the Fourteenth General Review of Quotas. The current deadline is due to expire on June 30, 2015; however, Board of Governor’s Resolution No. 66-2 provides that the Executive Board may extend the period for consent as it may determine. An extension under Resolution No. 66-2 will also extend the periods of consent for quota increases under the 2008 Reform of Quota and Voice (Resolution No. 63-2) and the Eleventh General Review of Quotas (Resolution No. 53-2).
As of June 10, 2015, 24 members have not yet consented to their proposed quota increases under Resolution No. 66-2 (see Appendix I). Once the conditions for effectiveness of the individual quota increases are met, members may then pay for their quota increases to make them effective.
June 8, 2015
2015 Spillover Report
Description: Many countries around the globe, particularly the systemic advanced economies, face the challenge of closing output gaps and raising potential output growth. Addressing these challenges requires a package of macroeconomic, financial and structural policies that will boost both aggregate demand and aggregate supply, while closing the shortfall between demand and supply. Each element of this package is important and one cannot substitute for the other: easy monetary policy will not raise potential output just as structural reforms will not close the output gap. This report studies the impact on emerging markets and nonsystemic advanced economies from monetary policy actions in systemic advanced economies, with a look also at knock-on effects from the decline in world oil prices.
June 4, 2015
Interim Steps on Quota and Governance Reform - Report of the Executive Board to the Board of Governors
Description: In light of continuing delays in the implementation of the 2010 quota and governance reforms (hereafter the “2010 Reforms”), the Board of Governors, in February 2015, adopted Resolution No. 70-1, which (i) expressed its deep regret that the quota increases under the Fourteenth General Review of Quotas (hereafter the “Fourteenth Review”) and the Proposed Amendment on the Reform of the Executive Board (hereafter the “Board Reform Amendment”) have not become effective, and that the Fifteenth General Review of Quotas (hereafter the “Fifteenth Review”) has not been completed; (ii) emphasized the importance and urgency of the 2010 Reforms for the Fund’s credibility, legitimacy, and effectiveness, and reiterated its commitment to their earliest possible implementation; (iii) urged the remaining members who have not yet accepted the Fourteenth Review quota increases and the Board Reform Amendment to do so without further delay; (iv) called for the completion of the Fifteenth Review by December 15, 2015; and (v) called on the Executive Board to work expeditiously and to complete its work as soon as possible on interim steps in the key areas covered by the 2010 Reforms, pending their full implementation, and thus to enable the Board of Governors to reach agreement on steps that represent meaningful progress towards the objectives of the 2010 Reforms by June 30, 2015.
June 3, 2015
Statement by the Managing Director on the Work Program of the Executive Board - Executive Board Meeting, June 3, 2015
Description:
The Managing Director’s Global Policy Agenda (GPA) presented to the IMFC in April identified a range of actions needed to bolster today’s actual and tomorrow’s potential output, diminish risks, and confront emerging global challenges. These actions included calibrating fiscal adjustment to economic conditions while establishing credible long-term fiscal frameworks and implementing growth-friendly fiscal policies, improving monetary policy effectiveness while containing excessive financial risk-taking, and accelerating structural reforms to raise growth potential and ensure inclusiveness. The GPA also outlined how the Fund would support the membership through assessments and policy advice provided in the context of multilateral and bilateral surveillance, financial support, and capacity building.
This document translates the policy priorities laid out in the GPA and the IMFC communiqué into a work agenda for the Executive Board over the next 12 months. In particular, the Board will be engaged on several issues of multilateral scope, including quota reform and resources, the SDR basket review, challenges facing the international monetary system, and the post-2015 global development agenda. The work program also includes several items from the action plan of the 2014 Triennial Surveillance Review (TSR).
June 2, 2015
Precautionary and Liquidity Line - Operational Guidance Note
Description: This note provides general guidance on the use of the Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL). After an overview of the instrument, explaining its specific nature, the operational issues are grouped into five areas: an outline of the process and specific steps that need to be followed if a member expresses interest in an arrangement; guidance on access, phasing, and purchases; guidance on determining qualification of a member and appropriate ex-post conditionality; and a guide to the semi-annual review process.
June 2, 2015
Flexible Credit Line--Operational Guidance Note
Description: The Flexible Credit Line (FCL) was introduced as part of a package of reforms to the Fund’s lending facilities in March 2009 and its design was further refined in August 2010 and in the 2014 Review of the policy. The following provides operational guidance and further background information on the FCL. SPR (the Emerging Markets Division), FIN, and LEG stand ready to clarify any further questions departments may have on the FCL or other aspects of the reforms to lending and conditionality.
May 29, 2015
Nepal - Assessment Letter for the World Bank
Description:
Before the earthquakes of April 25 and May 12, Nepal’s macroeconomic performance was relatively strong: Growth accelerated to 5.5 percent in 2013/14, thanks largely to a favorable monsoon; Inflation had been moderating, broadly in line with developments in India, but remained high at 7 percent (y/y) in March 2015; The fiscal position in 2013/14 (mid-July 2013 to mid-July 2014) was again in surplus, on account of under-execution of spending amid solid revenue growth. As a result, public debt eased further, to 25 percent of GDP. The trend of budget under-execution continued through April 2015, indicating that a small fiscal surplus looked again likely in 2014/15. Public debt remained on a declining path; The external position remained strong. The current account surplus reached 4.6 percent of GDP in 2013/14, as remittances continued to grow rapidly, reaching a record-high 28 percent of GDP. Net of remittances, however, Nepal ran a current account deficit of 23.6 percent of GDP in 2013/14. International reserves rose to US$6.2 billion by March 2015, equal to 29 percent of GDP and covering almost eight months of prospective imports.
The earthquakes are expected to cause an initial slowdown in economic activity.