The IMF at 80

The IMF has existed for 80 years. Over this period, the structure of the world economy has changed significantly. There has also been an evolution in economic thinking although not all economists agree with one another. The Bretton Woods system, of which the Fund was a key part, collapsed in the early 1970s. This raised the issue of whether the Fund was needed in the ‘modern era'. Periodically the Fund's very existence has been called into question, but it has proved resilient. Fundamentally, the role of the IMF is to try and offset key areas of market failure. This defines inter-related adjustment and financing roles for the Fund, with both of them having bilateral and systemic dimensions. At the age of 80, there is a myriad of issues that the Fund needs to confront. But finding answers is complex and difficult. Moving forward, and under the second Trump administration, the commitment of the United States to the IMF is in some doubt. There is a trend away from multilateralism, and a movement towards international coercion rather than cooperation in the conduct international economic affairs. Many commentators and politicians are prepared to express a point of view about the Fund, but they are frequently not based on firm analysis and empirical evidence.