Proposals for Changing the Functions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

The 50th anniversary of the signing of the Articles of
Agreement of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World
Bank was celebrated at meetings in Washington, DC: at Bretton
Woods, New Hampshire; and at the Annual Meeting of the Boards of
Governors of the two institutions held in Madrid. The many addresses at the 1994
meetings praising the contributions of the Fund and Bank were
overshadowed by the widely held conviction that both institutions
are seriously in need of overhauling. However, there is no consensus on how they should be changed. Some believe that one
or both have outlived their usefulness and should be abolished,
while others believe the institutions should continue to operate
as in the past, but with new responsibilities and enhanced
resources. This Working Paper is mainly concerned with proposals for major changes in the Fund, but because the proposals are also related to the operations of the Bank, a brief background
on both institutions is included.