IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/erp/leqsxx/p0022.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The European Rescue of the Washington Consensus? EU and IMF Lending to Central and Eastern European Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Susanne Lütz & Matthias Kranke

Abstract

The latest global financial crisis has allowed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) a spectacular comeback. But despite its notorious reputation as a staunch advocate of restrictive economic policies, the Fund has displayed less preference for austerity in recent crisis lending. Though widely welcomed as overdue, the IMF’s shift away from what John Williamson coined the ‘Washington Consensus’ was met with resistance from the European Union (EU) where it concerned Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. The situation of hard-hit Hungary, Latvia, and Romania propelled unprecedented cooperation between the IMF and the EU, in which the EU has very actively promoted orthodox measures in return for loans. We argue that this represents a European rescue of the Washington Consensus. The case of Latvia is paradigmatic for the profound disagreements between an austerity-demanding EU and a less austere IMF. The IMF’s stance contradicts conventional wisdom about the organization as the guardian of economic orthodoxy. To solve this puzzle, we shed light on three complementary factors of (non)learning that have shaped the EU’s relations vis-à-vis CEE borrowing countries in comparison to the IMF’s: (1) a disadvantageous institutional setting; (2) vociferous creditor coalitions; (3) the precarious eurozone project.

Suggested Citation

  • Susanne Lütz & Matthias Kranke, 2010. "The European Rescue of the Washington Consensus? EU and IMF Lending to Central and Eastern European Countries," Europe in Question Discussion Paper Series of the London School of Economics (LEQs) 2, London School of Economics / European Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:erp:leqsxx:p0022
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.lse.ac.uk/europeanInstitute/LEQS/LEQSPaper22.pdf
    File Function: Full text
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Serra, Narcis & Stiglitz, Joseph E. (ed.), 2008. "The Washington Consensus Reconsidered: Towards a New Global Governance," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780199534098.
    2. Waltraud Schelkle, 2010. "Good Governance in Crisis or a Good Crisis for Governance? A Comparison of the EU and the US," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 16, European Institute, LSE.
    3. Athanassiou, Phoebus, 2009. "Withdrawal and expulsion from the EU and EMU: some reflections," Legal Working Paper Series 10, European Central Bank.
    4. Marco Dani, 2009. "Economic and social conflicts, integration and constitutionalism in contemporary Europe," Europe in Question Discussion Paper Series of the London School of Economics (LEQs) 3, London School of Economics / European Institute.
    5. International Monetary Fund, 2009. "Republic of Latvia: First Review and Financing Assurances Review Under the Stand By Arrangement, Requests for Waivers of Nonobservance of Performance Criteria, and Rephasing of Purchases Under the Arr," IMF Staff Country Reports 2009/297, International Monetary Fund.
    6. Gerard Delanty, 2010. "The European Heritage from a Critical Cosmopolitan Perspective," Europe in Question Discussion Paper Series of the London School of Economics (LEQs) 9, London School of Economics / European Institute.
    7. Stone, Randall W., 2008. "The Scope of IMF Conditionality," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 62(4), pages 589-620, October.
    8. Graham Bird, 2003. "Restructuring the IMF's Lending Facilities," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 229-245, February.
    9. Joan Costa-i-Font, 2010. "Unveiling Vertical State Downscaling: Identity and/or the Economy?," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 20, European Institute, LSE.
    10. Miriam Hartlapp & Julia Metz and Christian Rauh, 2010. "The agenda set by the EU Commission: the result of balanced or biased aggregation of positions?," Europe in Question Discussion Paper Series of the London School of Economics (LEQs) 1, London School of Economics / European Institute.
    11. William Outhwaite, 2010. "Europe at 21: Transitions and Transformations since 1989," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 18, European Institute, LSE.
    12. Michael Keating, 2009. "Second Round Reform. Devolution and constitutional reform in the United Kingdom, Spain and Italy," Europe in Question Discussion Paper Series of the London School of Economics (LEQs) 5, London School of Economics / European Institute.
    13. Marchesi, Silvia & Thomas, Jonathan P, 1999. "IMF Conditionality as a Screening Device," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 109(454), pages 111-125, March.
    14. Frieden, Jeffry A., 1991. "Invested interests: the politics of national economic policies in a world of global finance," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 45(4), pages 425-451, October.
    15. Gore, Charles, 2000. "The Rise and Fall of the Washington Consensus as a Paradigm for Developing Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(5), pages 789-804, May.
    16. Ronan McCrea, 2009. "The Recognition of Religion within the Constitutional and Political Order of the European Union," Europe in Question Discussion Paper Series of the London School of Economics (LEQs) 0, London School of Economics / European Institute.
    17. Miriam Hartlapp & Julia Metz & Christian Rauh, 2010. "The agenda set by the EU Commission: the result of balanced or biased aggregation of positions?," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 21, European Institute, LSE.
    18. Garuda, Gopal, 2000. "The Distributional Effects of IMF Programs: A Cross-Country Analysis," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 28(6), pages 1031-1051, June.
    19. Louis W. Pauly, 2008. "Financial Crisis Management in Europe and Beyond," Contributions to Political Economy, Cambridge Political Economy Society, vol. 27(1), pages 73-89.
    20. Erlend Krogstad, 2007. "The Post-Washington Consensus: Brand New Agenda or Old Wine in a New Bottle?," Challenge, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(2), pages 67-85.
    21. Moravcsik, Andrew, 1997. "Taking Preferences Seriously: A Liberal Theory of International Politics," International Organization, Cambridge University Press, vol. 51(4), pages 513-553, October.
    22. McCleery, Robert K. & De Paolis, Fernando, 2008. "The Washington Consensus: A post-mortem," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 19(5-6), pages 438-446.
    23. Kostas A. Lavdas, 2010. "Normative Evolution in Europe: Small States and Republican Peace," Europe in Question Discussion Paper Series of the London School of Economics (LEQs) 7, London School of Economics / European Institute.
    24. Bird, Graham, 2002. "The credibility and signalling effect of IMF programmes," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 24(9), pages 799-811, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Petr Koráb & Jitka Pomenkova, 2014. "Financial Crisis and Financing Constraints of SMEs in Visegrad Countries," WIFO Working Papers 485, WIFO.
    2. Gurgen OHANYAN, 2013. "The Sway of IMF Policies on the Romanian Economy amid Global Financial Crisis," REVISTA ADMINISTRATIE SI MANAGEMENT PUBLIC, Faculty of Administration and Public Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 2013(21), pages 27-42, December.
    3. Kevin Featherstone, 2012. "Le choc de la nouvelle? Maastricht, déjà vu and EMU reform," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 52, European Institute, LSE.
    4. Vassilis Monastiriotis & Sotirios Zartaloudis, 2010. "Beyond the crisis: EMU and labour market reform pressures in good and bad times," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 23, European Institute, LSE.
    5. Kevin Featherstone, 2016. "Conditionality, Democracy and Institutional Weakness: the Euro-crisis Trilemma," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54, pages 48-64, September.
    6. Cristina Matos, 2013. "The Shifting Welfare State in Hungary and Latvia," American Journal of Economics and Sociology, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 72(4), pages 851-891, October.
    7. Deborah Mabbett & Waltraud Schelkle, 2015. "What difference does Euro membership make to stabilization? The political economy of international monetary systems revisited," Review of International Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 22(3), pages 508-534, June.
    8. Robert Shelburne, 2010. "The Global Financial Crisis and Its Impact on Trade: The World and the European Emerging Economies," ECE Discussion Papers Series 2010_2, UNECE.
    9. Kevin Featherstone, 2012. "Le choc de la nouvelle? Maastricht, déjà vu and EMU reform," Europe in Question Discussion Paper Series of the London School of Economics (LEQs) 2, London School of Economics / European Institute.
    10. Pistor Katharina, 2012. "Governing Interdependent Financial Systems: Lessons from the Vienna Initiative," Journal of Globalization and Development, De Gruyter, vol. 2(2), pages 1-25, January.
    11. Ilene Grabel, 2011. "Promising Avenues, False Starts and Dead Ends: Global Governance and Development Finance in the Wake of the Crisis," Working Papers wp241_revised, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    12. Vivien Schmidt, 2010. "Democracy and Legitimacy in the European Union Revisited - Input, Output and Throughput," KFG Working Papers p0021, Free University Berlin.
    13. Carlo Panico, Francesco Purificato, Elvira Sapienza, 2015. "Benefici, problemi e prospettive dell’integrazione monetaria in Europa (Benefits, issues and future of monetary integration in Europe)," Moneta e Credito, Economia civile, vol. 68(271), pages 305-339.
    14. Yilmaz Akyüz, 2014. "Internationalization of Finance and Changing Vulnerabilities in Emerging and Developing Economies," UNCTAD Discussion Papers 217, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
    15. Ilene Grabel, 2010. "Promising Avenues, False Starts and Dead Ends: Global Governance and Development Finance in the Wake of the Crisis," Working Papers wp241, Political Economy Research Institute, University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
    16. Santiago Capraro & Carlo Panico & Ignacio Perrotini & Francesco Purificato, 2012. "Austerit? o politiche coordinate ed espansive? Le difficili scelte delle autorit? europee," STUDI ECONOMICI, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2012(108), pages 81-112.
    17. Vinod Vyasulu, 2015. "‘Good’ Governance in India: How Good or Bad?," Millennial Asia, , vol. 6(2), pages 111-127, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Susanne Lütz & Matthias Kranke, 2010. "The European Rescue of the Washington Consensus? EU and IMF Lending to Central and Eastern European Countries," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 22, European Institute, LSE.
    2. Vassilis Monastiriotis & Sotirios Zartaloudis, 2010. "Beyond the crisis: EMU and labour market reform pressures in good and bad times," LEQS – LSE 'Europe in Question' Discussion Paper Series 23, European Institute, LSE.
    3. Lütz, Susanne & Kranke, Matthias, 2010. "The European rescue of the Washington Consensus? EU and IMF lending to Central and Eastern European countries," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 53450, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. Bomprezzi, Pietro & Marchesi, Silvia, 2023. "A firm level approach on the effects of IMF programs," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 132(C).
    5. Dreher, Axel & Walter, Stefanie, 2010. "Does the IMF Help or Hurt? The Effect of IMF Programs on the Likelihood and Outcome of Currency Crises," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 1-18, January.
    6. Molly Bauer & Cesi Cruz & Benjamin Graham, 2012. "Democracies only: When do IMF agreements serve as a seal of approval?," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 33-58, March.
    7. Graham Bird, 2007. "The Imf: A Bird'S Eye View Of Its Role And Operations," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(4), pages 683-745, September.
    8. Martin Steinwand & Randall Stone, 2008. "The International Monetary Fund: A review of the recent evidence," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 123-149, June.
    9. Valentin Lang, 2021. "The economics of the democratic deficit: The effect of IMF programs on inequality," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 599-623, July.
    10. Hartlapp, Miriam & Metz, Julia & Rauh, Christian, 2010. "How external interests enter the European Commission: Mechanisms at play in legislative position formation," Discussion Papers, Schumpeter Junior Research Group Position Formation in the EU Commission SP IV 2010-501, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    11. Andrea F. Presbitero & Alberto Zazzaro, 2010. "IMF Lending in Low- and Middle-Income Countries in the Wake of the Global Crisis," Development Working Papers 305, Centro Studi Luca d'Agliano, University of Milano.
    12. Silvana Târlea & Stefanie Bailer & Hanno Degner & Lisa M Dellmuth & Dirk Leuffen & Magnus Lundgren & Jonas Tallberg & Fabio Wasserfallen, 2019. "Explaining governmental preferences on Economic and Monetary Union Reform," European Union Politics, , vol. 20(1), pages 24-44, March.
    13. Stephanie J. Rickard & Teri L. Caraway, 2019. "International demands for austerity: Examining the impact of the IMF on the public sector," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 35-57, March.
    14. Thomas Stubbs & Bernhard Reinsberg & Alexander Kentikelenis & Lawrence King, 2020. "How to evaluate the effects of IMF conditionality," The Review of International Organizations, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 29-73, January.
    15. Mr. Calixte Ahokpossi & Laurence Allain & Giovanna Bua, 2014. "A Constrained Choice? Impact of Concessionality Requirements on Borrowing Behavior," IMF Working Papers 2014/176, International Monetary Fund.
    16. Chletsos, Michael & Sintos, Andreas, 2021. "Hide and seek: IMF intervention and the shadow economy," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 292-319.
    17. Presbitero, Andrea F. & Zazzaro, Alberto, 2012. "IMF Lending in Times of Crisis: Political Influences and Crisis Prevention," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(10), pages 1944-1969.
    18. Hartlapp, Miriam & Lorenz, Yann, 2012. "Persönliche Merkmale von Führungspersonal als Politikdeterminante: Die Europäische Kommission im Wandel der Zeit," Discussion Papers, Schumpeter Junior Research Group Position Formation in the EU Commission SP IV 2012-501, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    19. Essers, Dennis & Ide, Stefaan, 2019. "The IMF and precautionary lending: An empirical evaluation of the selectivity and effectiveness of the Flexible Credit Line," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 25-61.
    20. Michael A. Witt, 2019. "De-globalization: Theories, predictions, and opportunities for international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 50(7), pages 1053-1077, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    IMF; policy learning; East-Central Europe; Latvia;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:erp:leqsxx:p0022. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Katjana Gattermann (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www2.lse.ac.uk/europeanInstitute .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.