Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Role of the IMF in the International Financial and Eurozone Crises

  • Chapter
Economic Crisis in Europe

  • 161 Accesses

Abstract

On 23 September 2007, Dominique Strauss-Kahn was named the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In his speech on that day (as reported in Weisman, 2007), he summarized the challenges facing the IMF as ‘relevance and legitimacy’. Eighteen months later, the final communiqué of the Group of Twenty (G20) meeting of April 2009 (G20, 2009) voted to triple IMF lending capacity and authorized a substantial expansion in the stock of special drawing rights in circulation. By the end of 2010, the IMF had partnered with the European Union (EU) to design and administer financial relief packages for Greece and Ireland (IMF, 2011). The IMF went in short order from a supernumerary role to a central place on the world stage. What brought about this shift?

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Bibliography

  • Åslund, A. (2009) The East European Financial Crisis (CASE Network Studies and Analyses, Study 395) (Warsaw: CASE Center for Social and Economic Research).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bagehot, W. (1873) Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market (London: H.S. King).

    Google Scholar 

  • Berkmen, P., G. Gelos, R. Rennhack, and J. Walsh (2009) The Global Financial Crisis: Explaining Cross-Country Differences in the Output Impact (IMF Working Paper 09/280) (Washington: International Monetary Fund).

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernanke, B. (2005, April) The Global Savings Glut and the US Current Account Deficit. Remarks given at the Homer Jones Lecture, St. Louis, Missouri.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bird, G. and D. Rowlands (2008) ‘Catalyzing Private Capital Flows and IMF Programs: Some Remaining Questions’, Journal of Economic Policy Reform 11(1), 37–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blackstone, B. (2010, 11 May) ‘Amid the Storm, Questions about Bank’s Role’, Markets section, Wall Street Journal, vol. 109

    Google Scholar 

  • Blanchard, O. (2008) The Crisis: Basic Mechanisms and Appropriate Policies (MIT Working Paper 09–01) (Cambridge: Ifo Institute for Economic Research).

    Google Scholar 

  • Boughton, J. (2006) ‘Who’s in Charge? Ownership and Conditionality in IMF-Supported Programs’, in G. Ranis, J. Vreeland and S. Kosack (eds) Globalization and the Nation State (New York: Routledge), 19–35.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Calvo, G. (1998) ‘Capital Flows and Capital-Market Crises: The Simple Economics of Sudden Stops’, Journal of Applied Economics 1, 35–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conway, P. (1994) ‘IMF Lending Programs: Participation and Impact’, Journal of Development Economics 45, 365–391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conway, P. (2006) ‘IMF Essays from a Time of Crisis’, Journal of Economic Literature 40(1), 114–141.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conway, P. (2007) ‘The Revolving Door: Duration and Recidivism in IMF Programs’, Review of Economics and Statistics 89(2), 205–220.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Conway, P. (2010, 10 June) The IMF and the International Financial Crisis. Paper presented at Egon Sohmen Memorial Conference, University of Tubingen.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dooley, M. (2010) Central Bank Responses during Financial Crises (BIS Papers 51) (Basel: Bank for International Settlements).

    Google Scholar 

  • Dreher, A. (2004) ‘Does the IMF Cause Moral Hazard? A Critical Review of the Evidence’, Social Sciences Research Network, http://ssrn.com/abstract=505782, accessed on 26 January 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dreher, A. and Vaubel, R. (2004) ‘Do IMF and IBRD Cause Moral Hazard and Political Business Cycles? Evidence from Panel Data’, Open Economies Review 15, 5–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Europa (2010) The European Stabilization Mechanism, press release RAPID, Brussels, 10 May, http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-10–173_en.htm, accessed on 30 November 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • Faruqee, H. (2008) ‘IMF Sees Global Imbalances Narrowing, But More to Be Done’, IMF Survey Magazine 30(3), 1.

    Google Scholar 

  • Federal Reserve System (2011) Minutes of the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee, http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomccalendars.htm, accessed on 26 January 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feldstein, M. (1998) ‘Refocusing the IMF’, Foreign Affairs 77(2), March/April.

    Google Scholar 

  • Group of 20 (G20) (2009) Final Communique, 2 April 2009, http://www.g20.org/Documents/final-communique.pdf, accessed on 8 November 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hermann, S. and D. Mihaljek (2010) The Determinants of Cross-Border Bank Flows to Emerging Markets: New Empirical Evidence on the Spread of Financial Crises (BIS Working Paper 315, July) (Basel: Bank for International Settlements).

    Google Scholar 

  • International Financial Institution Advisory Commission (IFIAC) (2000) Report (Washington: Government Printing Office).

    Google Scholar 

  • International Monetary Fund (IMF) (2001) IMF Reviews Strengthening Country Ownership of Fund-Supported Programs (IMF Public Information Notice 1/125) (Washington: International Monetary Fund).

    Google Scholar 

  • International Monetary Fund (IMF) (2002) Guidelines on Conditionality, 25 September 2002, http://www.imf.org/external/np/pdr/cond/2002/eng/guid/092302.htm, accessed on 26 January 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • International Monetary Fund (IMF) (2004) The IMF’s Contingent Credit Lines (IMF Factsheet, March) (Washington: International Monetary Fund).

    Google Scholar 

  • International Monetary Fund (IMF) (2005) Staff Report for the 2005 Article IV Consultation for Latvia, 14 July, http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2005/cr05282.pdf, accessed on 26 January 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • International Monetary Fund (IMF) (2011) Regional Economic Outlook — Europe (Washington: International Monetary Fund).

    Google Scholar 

  • International Monetary Fund (IMF) (2012) IMF Resources and the G20 Summit, http://www.imf.org/external/np/exr/faq/sdrfaqs.htm.

    Google Scholar 

  • International Monetary Fund (IMF) (2003 through 2010) World Economic Outlook (Washington: International Monetary Fund).

    Google Scholar 

  • International Monetary Fund (IMF) (1984 through 2010) Annual Report (Washington: International Monetary Fund).

    Google Scholar 

  • Jeanne, O., J. Ostry, and J. Zettelmeyer (2008) A Theory of International Crisis Lending and IMF Conditionality (IMF Working Paper 08/236) (Washington: International Monetary Fund).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kamin, S. and L. DeMarco (2010), How did a Domestic Housing Slump Turn into a Global Financial Crisis? (IFD Discussion Paper 994) (Washington: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kenen, P. (1986) Financing, Adjustment and the International Monetary Fund (Washington: Brookings Institution).

    Google Scholar 

  • Kindleberger, C. (2000) Manias, Panics and Crashes, 4th ed. (New York: John Wiley & Sons).

    Google Scholar 

  • Moghadam, R. (2009) Review of Recent Crisis Programs, http://www.imf.org/external/np/pp/eng/2009/091409.pdf, accessed on 26 January 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moody’s (2011) http://www.moodys.com/researchandratings/market-segment/sovereign-supranational/, accessed on 14 November 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  • Presbitero, A. and A. Zazzaro (2010) The Global Crisis in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: How the IMF Responded (MOFIR Working Paper 35) (Ancona: Money and Finance Research Group).

    Google Scholar 

  • Sachs, J. (1997, 3 November) ‘The Wrong Medicine for Asia’, New York Times.

    Google Scholar 

  • Standard and Poor’s (2011) Sovereigns Rating List, http://www.standardandpoors.com/ratings/sovereigns/ratings-list/en/us/, accessed on 14 November 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stiglitz, J. (2002) Globalization and Its Discontents (New York: W.W. Norton).

    Google Scholar 

  • te Velde, W. et al. (2010) The Global Financial Crisis and Developing Countries: Phase 2 Synthesis (Overseas Development Institute Working Paper 316) (London: Overseas Development Institute).

    Google Scholar 

  • Tirole, J. (2002) Financial Crises, Liquidity and the International Monetary System (Princeton: Princeton University Press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaubel, R. (1983) ‘The Moral Hazard of IMF Lending’, The World Economy 6(3), 291–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weisman, S. (2007, 28 September) ‘IMF Faces a Question of Identity’, New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/28/business/worldbusiness/28imf.html, accessed on 26 January 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • Williamson, J. (ed.) (1983) IMF Conditionality (Washington: Institute for International Economics).

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors
  1. Patrick Conway
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of European, Russian and Eurasian Studies, Carleton University, Canada

    Joan DeBardeleben (Professor) & Crina Viju (Assistant Professor) (Professor) &  (Assistant Professor)

Copyright information

© 2013 Patrick Conway

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Conway, P. (2013). The Role of the IMF in the International Financial and Eurozone Crises. In: DeBardeleben, J., Viju, C. (eds) Economic Crisis in Europe. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137005236_8

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation