Abstract
This chapter is devoted to the origins of the IMF and to its principal provisions and operation. A brief appraisal is followed by a few suggestions for further reading.
Any “reforms” that would make the IMF “democratic” and “universal” and its support “automatic” would make it inefficient and ineffective and would lead to its eventual demise as a useful instrument of world economic development. It should not be turned into a satellite or replica of the United Nations.
G. Haberler
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Bibliography
A. IMF Publications
In addition to the Annual report of the executive directors,the Summary proceedings. Annual meeting of the Board of Governors,the Annual report on exchange restrictions and the Balance of payments yearbook,the Fund publishes the following reviews: International Financial News Survey (weekly up to 28 July 1972), IMF Survey (fortnightly, since 14 August 1972); International Financial Statistics (monthly, since 1948); Direction of trade (the first annual issue was published in April 1964, covering the years 1958–62; later issued monthly; jointly with the IBRD); Staff Papers (three issues a year, since February 1950) and Finance and Development (quarterly since June 1964; jointly with the IBRD, designed to explain the operation of the two organizations) regularly publish interesting articles about the IMF. See, for example, in the Staff Papers:
J.M. Fleming, Floating exchange rates, asymmetrical intervention and the management of international liquidity, July 1975; H.R. Heller, International reserves and worldwide inflation, March 1976; J. Salop, Dollar intervention within the snake, March 1977; T.M. Reichmann and R.T. Stillson, Experience with programs of balance of payments adjustment: stand-by arrangements in the higher credit tranches, 1963–72, June 1978. In Finance and Development: R. Dunn and R. Ley, Special Drawing Rights: a review of reconstitution, 1977, No. 1; H.R. Heller, Choosing an exchange rate system, 1977, No. 2; L.M. Young, Surveillance over exchange rate policies, 1977, No. 3; M.G. Martin, Gold market developments, 1975–77, 1978, No. 1; Chronology of international monetary reform, 1978, No. 2.
Selected decisions of the International Monetary Fund and selected documents (8th ed., 1976) and a Supplement (1978).
Papers of Pamphlet Series,written by IMF officials, appear at irregular intervals, notably
P. Høst-Madsen, Balance of payments: its meaning and uses (1967); Balance of payments concepts and definitions (2nd ed., 1969); J. Gold, Interpretation by the Fund (1968); idem, Special Drawing Rights (2nd ed., 1970); idem, The Fund’s concepts of convertibility (1971); idem, Special Drawing Rights. The role of language (1971); J. Polak, Some reflections on the nature of Special Drawing Rights (1971); W. Habermeier, Operations and transactions in SDRs: The first basic period (1973); J. Polak, Valuation and rate of interest of the SDR (1974); J. Gold, Floating currencies, gold and SDRs: Some recent legal developments (1976); idem, Voting majorities in the Fund. Effects of second amendment of the Articles (1977); idem, International capital movements under the law of the International Monetary Fund (1977); idem, Floating currencies, SDRs and gold. Further legal developments (1977); idem, Use, conversion, and exchange of currency under the second amendment of the Fund’s Articles (1978); idem, The second amendment of the Fund’s Articles of Agreement (1978).
See also, The International Monetary Fund, 1945–1965. Twenty years of international monetary cooperation (1969) — Vol. 1: J.K. Horsefield, Chronicle; Vol. 2: M.G. De Vries, J. Gold, M.H. Gumbart, J.K. Horsefield, G. Lovasy and E.G. Spitzek, Analysis; Vol. 3: Documents (reproducing most of the documents referred to in the first two volumes); M.G. De Vries, The International Monetary Fund, 1966–71, The system under stress (1976): 2 volumes; trace in detail the steps which have led to the Fund’s main policy decisions; International reserves and liquidity. A study by the staff of the International Monetary Fund (1958); Compensatory financing of export fluctuations. A second report by the International Monetary Fund (1966); The role of exchange rates in the adjustment of international payments. A report by the Executive Directors (1970); International reserves: Needs and availability. Papers and proceedings of a seminar on questions relating to international reserve needs and availabilities (1970); Reform of the international monetary system. A report by the Executive Directors to the Board of Governors (1972); International monetary reform; documents of the Committee of Twenty (1974); Proposed second amendment to the Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund (1976).
B. Other Publications
M.A.G. van Meerhaeghe, The International Monetary Fund: twenty years on, Economia Internazionale, February 1968; R.A. Mundell, The International Monetary Fund, Journal of World Trade Law, September/October 1969; D. Carreau, Le système monétaire international; aspects juridiques ( Paris, Librairie Armand Colin, 1972 ).
C. The IMF and the International Monetary System
The ideas of R. Triffm are to be found, inter alia,in Europe and the money muddle (New Haven, Yale University Press, 1957); Gold and the dollar crisis, the future of convertibility (New Haven, Yale University Press, 1960); Our international monetary system: yesterday, today and tomorrow (New York, Random House, 1968); The world money maze. National currencies in international payments (New Haven, Yale University Press, 1966): a collection of articles.
A survey of the various proposals with respect to the international monetary system is given in The international monetary system. Problems and proposals (ed. L.H. Officer and T.D. Willet, Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall, 1969). F. Machlup, Remaking the international monetary system. The Rio Agreement and beyond (Baltimore, Johns Hopkins, University Press, 1968).
On international monetary reserves: M.J. Flanders, “International liquidity is always inadequate”, Kyklos, Fasc. 3, 1969; Monetary problems of the international economy (ed. R.A. Mundell and A.K. Swoboda, Chicago, University Press of Chicago, 1969). H.G. Grubel, The demand for international reserves: a critical review of the literature, Journal of Economic Literature, December 1971.
H.G. Johnson, The Bretton Woods System, key currencies and the dollar crisis of 1971, Three Banks Review, June 1972; J. Rueff, La réforme du système monétaire international (Paris, Plon, 1973), Heft 3/4, 1974; H.G. Johnson, R. Dornbusch and J.A. Frenkel, Current problems of the international monetary three analyses, Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv, 1975, No. 2; J. Marchai, Le système monétaire international: de Bretton Woods aux changes flottants, 1944–75 (Paris, Editions Cujas, 1975); W.M. Scammell, International monetary policy: Bretton Woods and after (London, Macmillan, 1975); S.W. Black, Floating exchange rates and national economic policy (New Haven, Yale University Press, 1977); D.I. Meiselman and A.B. Laffer, The phenomenon of worldwide inflation (Washington, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy, 1975); G. Haberler, The international monetary system after Jamaica and Manila, Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv, 1977, No. 1; J.A.H. de Beaufort Wijnholds, The need for international reserves and credit facilities (Leyden, Martinus Nijhoff, 1977); V. Andersen, Das internationale Währungssystem zwischen nationaler souveränitat und supranationaler integration (Berlin, Duncker & Humblot, 1977); The new international monetary system (ed. R.A. Mundell and J.J. Polak, New York, Columbia University, Press, 1977); R. Solomon, The international monetary system 1945–76,An insider’s view (New York, Harper & Row, 1977).
The extracts quoted are from: B. Tew, The International Monetary Fund: its present role and future prospects (Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1961); C. de RibetPetersen, “Les droits de tirage spéciaux”, Economie Appliquée, 1971, No. 3; H.G. Johnson, “On living without an international monetary system”, Euromoney, April 1975; idem “World inflation and the international monetary system”, Three Banks Review, September 1975; F. Machlup, “The need for monetary reserves”, BancaNazionale del Lavoro Quarterly Review, September 1966; H.R. Heller, op. cit.; S. Mookerjee, Policies on the use of the Fund resources, IMF Staff Papers, November 1966; A conversation with Mr Witteveen, Finance and Development, September 1978.
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van Meerhaeghe, M.A.G. (1980). The International Monetary Fund. In: A Handbook of International Economic Institutions. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-8860-6_2
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