This pamphlet is an adapted and updated version of the prologue to Tearing Down Walls: The International Monetary Fund 1990-1999, by the same author. That book examines a tumultuous decade in which the IMF faced difficult challenges and took on new and expanded roles. Among these were assisting...

This paper outlines legal developments related to floating currencies, gold, and special drawing rights (SDRs) in the IMF. The Articles of the Fund require each member to establish a par value for its currency in terms of gold as a common denominator. Alternatively, the par value may be...

This paper discusses the possibility of an IMF that would be based fully on the special drawing right (SDR). The paper explores the basic economic justification for a General Department restructured in this way, the broad outline of the structure that would have to be established, the liquidity...

This paper discusses technical assistance services of the IMF. The technical assistance and advice provided by the IMF to its members are an integral part of its activities. They may take many forms, operate at all levels of authority, and cover a wide array of topics, ranging from broad policy...

This paper examines legal developments in area of floating currencies, special drawing rights, and gold in the IMF. It highlights that the breakdown of the par value system of the original Articles of the IMF and the failure of the IMF's efforts to substitute a comparable system based on central...

This paper explains the primary aim behind the founding of the IMF. The IMF is a cooperative institution that 181 countries have voluntarily joined because they see the advantage of consulting with one another in this forum to maintain a stable system of buying and selling their currencies so...

This paper presents the fourth survey of certain changes in international and national monetary law and practice in relation to special drawing rights (SDRs), currencies, and gold. SDRs have characteristics that enable them to function as a supplement to existing reserve assets in the sense that...

This paper analyzes legal impact of the Articles of Agreement of the IMF on the business transactions of private persons and corporations. At the heart of the Articles is the simple idea that the member states of the IMF should observe certain rules of good conduct in monetary policy, and that...

This paper discusses reasons functions of the IMF, why it needs more resources, and how these resources will be used. The IMF provides a forum for cooperation, having as its objective the balanced expansion of international trade in order to stimulate employment and improve economic conditions...

An introductory guide to the IMF, its history, and its role in the international financial system. Explains for a general audience the IMF’s lending policies, how decisions are made, and where the money comes from. Gives details of the structure of the IMF, its increasing transparency, how it...