Jomo Kwame Sundaram is assistant secretary general for economic development at the United Nations and research coordinator for the G24 Intergovernmental Group on International Monetary Affairs and Development. In 2007 he was awarded the Wassily Leontief Prize for Advancing the Frontiers of Economic Thought. --Book Jacket.

The papers included in this book cover different aspects of the governance of the Bretton Woods institutions. They explore different options for reform and show that enhancing the participation of developing and emerging market countries in resolving the major monetary and financial problems confronting the world economy, would improve global economic performance and contribute to the elimination of world poverty.

"This book argues that only by reforming the international monetary system can we prevent financial crises in the future and the internationalization of the Renminbi, China's national currency, will be an important step in the process. Just as the old saying goes, "An old building needs to be demolished before a new one can be erected in its place," there will be no construction without destruction. The commencement of the dismantling of the old monetary system is also the beginning of the construction of the new one. Contrary to Western rhetoric, which portrays China as part of the cause of the recent financial crisis, the author contends that China is actually a victim of the current unjust international economic and monetary system. To address the imbalance and break the dollar-dominated international monetary system, the author calls for the internationalization of the Renminbi and diversification of the international monetary system. Written by one of the foremost financial practitioners in China, this book is thought-provoking and provides a unique Chinese perspective on how the international monetary system should be reformed, what the future system should look like and the role China should play in the process. It is a required reading for anyone interested in understanding China's own vision in its rise in the global political, economic and financial systems."--

This report presents a set of concrete proposals of increasing ambition for the reform of the international monetary system. The proposals aim at improving the international provision of liquidity in order to limit the effects of individual and systemic crises and decrease their frequency. The recommendations outlined in this report include: / Develop alternatives to US Treasuries as the dominant reserve asset, including the issuance of mutually guaranteed European bonds and (in the more distant future) the development of a yuan bond market. / Make permanent the temporary swap agreements that were put in place between central banks during the crisis. Establish a starshaped structure of swap lines centred on the IMF. / Strengthen and expand existing IMF liquidity facilities. On the funding side, expand the IMF's existing financing mechanisms and allow the IMF to borrow directly on the markets. / Establish a foreign exchange reserve pooling mechanism with the IMF, providing participating countries with access to additional liquidity and, incidentally, allowing reserves to be recycled into productive investments.To limit moral hazard, the report proposes the setting up of specific surveillance indicators to monitor international funding risks associated with increased insurance provision. The report discusses the role of the special drawing rights (SDRs) and the prospects for turning this unit of account into a true international currency, arguing that it would not solve the fundamental problems of the international monetary system. The report also reviews the conditions under which emerging market economies may use temporary capital controls to counteract excessive and volatile capital flows. The potential for negative externalities requires mutual monitoring and international cooperation in terms of financial regulation and suggests that the mandate of the IMF should be extended to the financial account.

In the two decades prior to publication of this 1994 book, international monetary relations had been characterised by latent instability, and then by severe tensions. Yet the issue of reforming the international monetary system does not appear on the agenda of the policy makers of the major countries involved. The International Monetary System tries to analyse this apparent contradiction. It brings together contributions from some of the most authoritative academic economists and monetary officials, and examines each of the fundamental functions of the international monetary system. There is broad support for improving present monetary arrangements with the aim of ensuring more stable conditions in monetary and financial markets and of promoting the orderly adjustment of payments disequilibria. For political reasons a fully-fledged reform exercise is unlikely, but very few experts seem to like the status quo. This book provides the reader with a comprehensive account of the institutional and policy changes required to manage an increasingly integrated and interdependent global monetary and financial system.

The current international system of institutions and governance groups is proving inadequate to meet many of today's most important challenges, such as terrorism, poverty, nuclear proliferation, financial integration, and climate change. The International Monetary Fund, World Bank, and UN were founded after World War II, and their structures of voting power and representation have become obsolete, no longer reflecting today's balance of economic and political power. This insightful book examines how to make such institutions more responsive and effective. Institutional reform is critically needed but currently in stalemate. A new push is needed from powerful nations acting together through a reformed and enlarged G-8 that includes emerging economies, such as China and India. Global challenges demand integrated approaches, with greater coordination among international institutions. Global Governance Reform argues that without reconstituting the Group of 8 summit into a larger, more representative group of leaders, with a new mandate to provide strategic guidance to the system of international institutions, the world will fall further behind in addressing global challenges. The path to global reform is defined by the need to act in coordinated ways on summit and institutional reform, and this book lights the way.

The North Atlantic financial crisis of 2008-2009 has spurred renewed interest in reforming the international monetary system, which has been malfunctioning in many aspects. Large and volatile capital flows have promoted greater volatility in financial markets, leading to recurrent financial crises. The renewed focus on the broader role of the central banks, away from narrow price stability monetary policy frameworks, is necessary to ensure domestic macroeconomic and financial stability. Since international monetary cooperation might be difficult, though desirable, central banks in major advanced economies, going forward, need to internalize the implications of their monetary policies for the rest of the global economy to reduce the incidence of financial crises.

After the 2008–9 global financial crisis, reforms to promote stability, social inclusion, and sustainability were promised but not delivered. As a result, the global economic situation, marred by inequality, volatility, and climate breakdown, remains dysfunctional. Now, the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic offers us a second chance. Kevin Gallagher and Richard Kozul-Wright argue that we must grasp it by implementing sweeping reforms to how we govern global money, finance, and trade. Without global leaders prepared to boldly rewrite the rules to promote a prosperous, just, and sustainable post-Covid world economic order – a Bretton Woods moment for the twenty-first century – we risk being engulfed by climate chaos and political dysfunction. This book provides a blueprint for change that no one interested in the future of our planet can afford to miss.

Tirole analyzes the current views on financial crises and on the reform of the international financial architecture. Based on the Paolo Baffi Lecture the author delivered at the Bank of Italy, this refreshingly accessible book is teeming with rich insights that researchers, policy makers, and students at all levels will find indispensable.