What's Wrong With the IMF and How to Fix It

by Bessma Momani (Author), Mark R. Hibben (Author)

The IMF stands at a crossroad. Derided as increasingly irrelevant in the first decade of the new millennium, the Fund has had its power and prestige restored by the fallout from the 2008 global financial crisis. But will the resurgent IMF assert a more just and sustainable macroeconomic model and provide a voice for poor and marginalized people around the globe? Or will enduring weaknesses within the IMF mean it fails to address these issues?

In this book, Bessma Momani and Mark R. Hibben dissect the variables and institutional dynamics at play in IMF governance, surveillance, lending, and capacity development to expose the fundamental barriers to change. Identifying four areas that could “fix” the IMF, they show how these genuine and workable solutions can give the IMF the effectiveness and legitimacy it needs to positively shape twenty-first-century global governance and push back against volatile and regressive forces in the international political economy.

Review
"This book draws upon the authors' broad experience to paint a portrait of an institution under challenge and highlights changes that could strengthen the IMF. It should be read by students, policy analysts and officials alike for its timely insights."
Thomas A. Bernes, Distinguished Fellow and former President, Centre for International Governance Innovation

"There are some problems no government can fix without cooperation. That's why the IMF is needed. This useful book sets out some of the critiques of the IMF along with ideas about reforms which could help the institution do better."
Ngaire Woods, University of Oxford

About the Authors
Bessma Momani is a Senior Fellow at Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and a Professor of Political Science at the Balsillie School of International Affairs and the University of Waterloo

Mark Hibben is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Saint Joseph?s College of Maine, USA