Editing International Monetary Fund (section)

=== General ===
[[File:IMF demonstration (10).png|thumb|[[Anarchist]] protest against the IMF and corporate bailout in April 2009]]
[[Overseas Development Institute]] (ODI) research undertaken in 1980 included criticisms of the IMF which support the analysis that it is a pillar of what activist Titus Alexander calls [[global apartheid]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Alexander |first1=Titus |title=Unravelling Global Apartheid: an overview of world politics |year=1996 |publisher=Polity press |pages=133 }}</ref>
* Developed countries were seen to have a more dominant role and control over [[Developing country|less developed countries]] (LDCs).
* The Fund worked on the incorrect assumption that all payments [[disequilibria]] were caused domestically. The [[Group of 24]] (G-24), on behalf of LDC members, and the [[United Nations Conference on Trade and Development]] (UNCTAD) complained that the IMF did not distinguish sufficiently between disequilibria with predominantly external as opposed to internal causes. This criticism was voiced in the aftermath of the [[1973 oil crisis]]. Then LDCs found themselves with payment deficits due to adverse changes in their [[terms of trade]], with the Fund prescribing stabilization programmes similar to those suggested for deficits caused by government over-spending. Faced with long-term, externally generated disequilibria, the G-24 argued for more time for LDCs to adjust their economies.
* Some IMF policies may be anti-developmental; the report said that [[deflationary]] effects of IMF programmes quickly led to losses of output and employment in economies where incomes were low and unemployment was high. Moreover, the burden of the deflation is disproportionately borne by the poor.
* The IMF's initial policies were based in theory and influenced by differing opinions and departmental rivalries. Critics suggest that its intentions to implement these policies in countries with widely varying economic circumstances were misinformed and lacked economic rationale.

ODI conclusions were that the IMF's very nature of promoting market-oriented approaches attracted unavoidable criticism. On the other hand, the IMF could serve as a scapegoat while allowing governments to blame international bankers. The ODI conceded that the IMF was insensitive to political aspirations of LDCs while its policy conditions were inflexible.<ref>{{cite journal |title=The IMF and the Third World |url=http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=5379&title=imf-ldcs |journal=ODI Briefing Paper |date=October 1980 |publisher=[[Overseas Development Institute]] |access-date=6 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120107124156/http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=5379&title=imf-ldcs |archive-date=7 January 2012 }}</ref>

Argentina, which had been considered by the IMF to be a model country in its compliance to policy proposals by the [[Bretton Woods system|Bretton Woods]] institutions, experienced a catastrophic economic crisis in 2001,<ref>''Memoria del Saqueo'', [[Fernando Ezequiel Solanas]], documentary film, 2003 (Language: Spanish; Subtitles: English) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH6_i8zuffs&feature=PlayList&p=8B60CF40AEF6BBDA&index=0&playnext=1 YouTube.com] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140328152628/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH6_i8zuffs&feature=PlayList&p=8B60CF40AEF6BBDA&index=0&playnext=1 |date=28 March 2014 }}</ref> which some believe to have been caused by IMF-induced budget restrictions—which undercut the government's ability to sustain national infrastructure even in crucial areas such as health, education, and security—and [[privatisation]] of strategically vital national [[natural resources|resources]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/twr137b.htm |title=Economic debacle in Argentina: The IMF strikes again |publisher=Twnside.org.sg |access-date=30 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100303033200/http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/twr137b.htm |archive-date=3 March 2010 }}</ref> Others attribute the crisis to Argentina's misdesigned [[fiscal federalism]], which caused subnational spending to increase rapidly.<ref>Stephen Webb, "Argentina: Hardening the Provincial Budget Constraint", in Rodden, Eskeland, and Litvack (eds.), ''Fiscal Decentralization and the Challenge of Hard Budget Constraints'' (Cambridge, Massachusetts: [[MIT Press]], 2003).</ref> The crisis added to widespread hatred of this institution in Argentina and other South American countries, with many blaming the IMF for the region's economic problems. The post-2000s trend toward moderate left-wing governments in the region and a growing concern with the development of a regional economic policy largely independent of big business pressures has been ascribed to this crisis.{{citation needed|date=October 2021}}

In 2001, the Independent Evaluation Office, an autonomous body, was established to conduct independent evaluations of policies and activities of the International Monetary Fund.{{citation needed|date=November 2024}}

In 2006, a senior [[ActionAid]] policy analyst Akanksha Marphatia stated that IMF policies in Africa undermine any possibility of meeting the [[Millennium Development Goals|Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)]] due to imposed restrictions that prevent spending on important sectors, such as education and health.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.scitrading.pro/post-49677/ |title=Ultimate Profit Solution Review by Toshko Raychev |publisher=SCI Trading |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161124043034/http://www.scitrading.pro/post-49677/ |archive-date=24 November 2016 }}</ref>

In an interview (2008-05-19), the former Romanian Prime Minister [[Călin Popescu-Tăriceanu]] claimed that "Since 2005, IMF is constantly making mistakes when it appreciates the country's economic performances".<ref name=int>{{cite web |url=http://www.mediafax.ro/economic/tariceanu-fmi-a-facut-constant-greseli-de-apreciere-a-economiei-romanesti.html?1686;2645329 |title=Tăriceanu: FMI a făcut constant greșeli de apreciere a economiei românești – Mediafax |publisher=Mediafax.ro |access-date=30 May 2010 |archive-date=28 December 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081228224458/http://www.mediafax.ro/economic/tariceanu-fmi-a-facut-constant-greseli-de-apreciere-a-economiei-romanesti.html?1686;2645329 }}</ref> Former Tanzanian President [[Julius Nyerere]], who claimed that debt-ridden African states were ceding sovereignty to the IMF and the World Bank, famously asked, "Who elected the IMF to be the ministry of finance for every country in the world?"<ref name="Mwakikagile2006">{{cite book |title=Africa is in a Mess: What Went Wrong and what Should be Done |url={{Google books|f1NvA-BFmC8C |page=PA27 |keywords= |text= |plainurl=yes}} |year=2006 |author=Godfrey Mwakikagile |publisher=New Africa Press |isbn=978-0-9802534-7-4 |pages=27– }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.houseofknowledge.org.uk/site/documents/neoGarveyismCorner/Nyerere,%20Reflections--Dec.%201997.pdf |title=Reflections on Leadership in Africa – Forty Years After Independence |website=houseofknowledge.org.uk |access-date=14 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140515014411/http://www.houseofknowledge.org.uk/site/documents/neoGarveyismCorner/Nyerere,%20Reflections--Dec.%201997.pdf |archive-date=15 May 2014 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Former chief economist of IMF and former [[Reserve Bank of India]] (RBI) Governor [[Raghuram Rajan]] who predicted the [[2008 financial crisis]] criticised the IMF for remaining a sideline player to the developed world. He criticised the IMF for praising the monetary policies of the US, which he believed were wreaking havoc in emerging markets.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.financialexpress.com/article/industry/banking-finance/rbi-guv-raghuram-rajan-slams-imf-for-applauding-easy-money-policies/153617/ |title=RBI Guv Raghuram Rajan blasts IMF for being soft on easy money policies of West |date=19 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151022162913/http://www.financialexpress.com/article/industry/banking-finance/rbi-guv-raghuram-rajan-slams-imf-for-applauding-easy-money-policies/153617/ |archive-date=22 October 2015 }}</ref> He had been critical of "ultra-loose money policies" of some unnamed countries.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://in.reuters.com/article/india-rbi-rajan-imf-idINKCN0SD0CL20151019 |title=RBI chief Rajan urges IMF to act against 'extreme' policies |first1=Suvashree |last1=Choudhury |newspaper=Reuters |date=19 October 2015 |access-date=6 July 2021 |archive-date=25 April 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425115413/https://in.reuters.com/article/india-rbi-rajan-imf-idINKCN0SD0CL20151019 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.businesstoday.in/money/banking/rbi-governor-raghuram-rajan-urges-imf-to-act-against-extreme-policies/story/225016.html |title=RBI's Raghuram Rajan urges IMF to act against 'extreme' policies |date=19 October 2015 |access-date=2 November 2015 |archive-date=2 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151102223713/http://www.businesstoday.in/money/banking/rbi-governor-raghuram-rajan-urges-imf-to-act-against-extreme-policies/story/225016.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Countries such as [[Zambia]] have not received proper aid with long-lasting effects, leading to concern from economists. Since 2005, Zambia (as well as 29 other African countries) did receive debt write-offs, which helped with the country's medical and education funds. However, Zambia returned to a debt of over half its GDP in less than a decade. American economist [[William Easterly]], sceptical of the IMF's methods, had initially warned that "debt relief would simply encourage more reckless borrowing by crooked governments unless it was accompanied by reforms to speed up economic growth and improve governance", according to ''[[The Economist]]''.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/09/15/zambias-looming-debt-crisis-is-a-warning-for-the-rest-of-africa |title=Zambia's looming debt crisis is a warning for the rest of Africa |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=19 September 2018 |archive-date=18 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918163443/https://www.economist.com/leaders/2018/09/15/zambias-looming-debt-crisis-is-a-warning-for-the-rest-of-africa |url-status=live }}</ref>