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The Global Financial Safety Net (GFSN) has expanded considerably since 2008, including in the non-traditional elements of the safety net such as Regional Financing Arrangements (RFAs). The resulting multi-layered structure of the GFSN makes collaboration between its various elements more important than in the past. Specifically, stronger collaboration between the Fund and RFAs would help increase the effective firepower of the GFSN and ensure a timely deployment of resources. The Fund’s experience in macroeconomic adjustment and its universal risk pooling would combine with the greater regional knowledge and country ownership brought the RFA. In this way, improved collaboration between the Fund and RFAs, including in co-financing, would significantly reduce the risk of contagion by encouraging countries to seek early assistance from the Fund. This paper is part of a broader set of proposals to fortify the GFSN (IMF, 2017b, c, d). It proposes both modalities for collaboration—across capacity development, surveillance, and lending—and some operational principles to help guide future co-lending between the Fund and the various RFAs. To date, the only operational guidance to facilitate collaboration has been limited to the high-level 2011 G20 Principles for Cooperation between the IMF and RFAs. Building on several case studies and the principles derived from them, this paper proposes an operational framework for future engagement. It aims to start a more structured dialogue between the Fund and individual RFAs on the modalities of how best to work together.

A recovery is underway, but the economic fallout from the global pandemic could be with us for years to come. With the crisis exacerbating prepandemic vulnerabilities, country prospects are diverging. Nearly half of emerging market and developing economies and some middle-income countries are now at risk of falling further behind, undoing much of the progress made toward achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

This volume provides an analysis of the global monetary system and proposes a comprehensive yet evolutionary reform of the system aimed at creating better monetary cooperation for the twenty-first century.

The framework guiding the IMF’s communications—established by the Executive Board in 2007—has enabled the institution to respond flexibly to the changing global context. The framework is based on four guiding principles: (i) deepening understanding and support for the Fund’s role and policies; (ii) better integrating communications into the IMF’s daily operations; (iii) raising the impact of new communications materials and technologies; and (iv) rebalancing outreach efforts to take account of different audiences. In addition, greater emphasis has been placed on strengthening internal communications to help ensure institutional coherence in the Fund’s outreach activities. Continued efforts are needed to strengthen communications going forward. Several issues deserve particular attention. First, taking further steps to ensure clarity and consistency in communication in a world where demand for Fund services continues to rise. Second, doing more to assess the impact of IMF communications and thus better inform efforts going forward. Third, engaging strategically and prudently with new media—including social media.

A Brookings Institution Press and the European Community Studies Association publication The European economic and monetary union has changed the structure of international monetary relations fundamentally. In this book two experts--one European, the other American--offer transatlantic perspectives on the ramifications of the monetary union and the launch of the euro. C. Randall Henning examines selected American views on Europe's monetary union, and looks at the political, economic, and institutional interests of the United States as they are affected by the creation of the euro. He examines the external monetary policymaking machinery of the union and discusses the relationship of the monetary union to international institutions, particularly the meetings of the G-7 finance ministers and central bank governors and the International Monetary Fund. Henning is generally sympathetic to European integration, supportive of the monetary union, and persuaded of the importance of international cooperation. Pier Carlo Padoan presents a European view of the role of the euro in the international system. He looks at the euro as a potential global currency and examines the transition phase between a regional currency and a global currency. Central to this is an analysis of the appropriate exchange rate policy for the euro. He also considers euro-dollar relations and the prospects for transatlantic cooperation. C. Randall Henning is a professor at The American University and a senior fellow at the Institute for International Economics. Pier Carlo Padoan is a professor at the University of Rome and the College of Europe.

The audited consolidated financial statements of the International Monetary Fund as of April 30, 2019 and 2018

The global economy has experienced four waves of rapid debt accumulation over the past 50 years. The first three debt waves ended with financial crises in many emerging market and developing economies. During the current wave, which started in 2010, the increase in debt in these economies has already been larger, faster, and broader-based than in the previous three waves. Current low interest rates mitigate some of the risks associated with high debt. However, emerging market and developing economies are also confronted by weak growth prospects, mounting vulnerabilities, and elevated global risks. A menu of policy options is available to reduce the likelihood that the current debt wave will end in crisis and, if crises do take place, will alleviate their impact.

"The changing contours of the global economy and the rapid transformation of the global financial safety net (GFSN) have strengthened the case for more structured collaboration between its different layers, particularly with Regional Financing Arrangements (RFAs). RFAs have become an important part of the GFSN, and their roles have also evolved. Over recent years, their coverage has expanded to encompass many major advanced and emerging market economies; the resources under their control has risen. Moreover, since the global financial crisis, some RFAs have become key financing counterparts of Fund-supported programs. These developments have heightened the importance of close and timely collaboration with RFAs. However, there is currently no formal framework for an exchange of Board documents with RFAs, leaving a gap in Fund collaboration with RFAs. The Fund has a long-standing practice for collaborating and sharing documents with other international organizations, primarily under the Transmittal Policy that was amended most recently in November 2017. However, some RFAs do not meet the criteria under the Transmittal Policy and, in view of the unique and heterogeneous institutional and governance structures of RFAs, there is a need for a dedicated and coherent framework that facilitates the exchange of documents on both routine and non-routine bases. This paper proposes a policy framework for the exchange of documents between the Fund and RFAs. The proposed framework establishes a set of criteria to be met by RFAs for document exchange—based on the consideration of whether a certain entity shares common operational interest with the Fund, and provides satisfactory confidentiality and reciprocity assurances. Under routine document sharing arrangements with RFAs, Board documents would be provided after Board consideration. In cases of UFR arrangements involving current or potential co-financing by the Fund and RFAs, or Policy Coordination Instruments (PCIs) and Policy Support Instruments (PSIs) that may help unlock RFA financing to the country, staff proposes that relevant Board documents be exchanged prior to their consideration by the Board, following notification to the Board. The proposed framework builds on the principles of the Transmittal Policy and does not impact the transmittal of documents to international organizations currently governed by the Transmittal Policy."

In this sequel to the first Geneva Report on the World Economy, published twenty years ago, the same group of authors review changes in the global economy and the IMF over this two-decade interval. While they find that that the IMF has responded actively to the ongoing globalisation trend, they flag concerns about formidable new challenges. For example, there is a danger that the IMF's resources could be significantly reduced at the very time that effective crisis management requires additional funding. The growth of emerging market economies increasingly calls into question the current distribution of voting power within the institution. Regional monetary arrangements and bilateral currency swaps create an alternative to the multilateral order epitomised by the IMF, as evidenced by the Fund's diminished role in the euro area crisis and by the rise of China with its own network of economic and financial initiatives. To address these challenges, this report suggests a quick-disbursing emergency financing facility for countries with strong fundamentals that does not require prequalification; puts forward new ideas for the IMF's dealings with regional arrangements; and recommends major changes to IMF governance, including a high-level non-resident Board, elected using a tailored voting procedure, whose role is to make the independent management team more accountable.