Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

The IMF’s Proposed Policies on the Management of Capital Flows

by Joseph Joyce The IMF’s Proposed Policies on the Management of Capital Flows The IMF’s views on the advantages and drawbacks of capital flows have substantially evolved over time. The Fund reversed its opposition to capital controls in the wake of the global financial crisis of 2007-09, when it adopted the “Institutional View on the […]

The IMF and the Coronavirus

by Joseph Joyce The IMF and the Coronavirus A global threat such as the coronavirus should be met with a global response. National governments, however, have generally not coordinated their efforts, with the exception of those that belong to the European Union, and even there the distribution of vaccines has not gone smoothly. International agencies, on […]

OXI ~ 60%: What now? Greece Open Thread

Greece Interior Ministry Results all regions voting ‘OXI’ = ‘No’ Huffington Post: Live Updates: Greece Votes In Referendum On Bailout Proposal More links as afternoon progresses. This article by Steve Randy Waldman at Interfluidity has been getting a lot of play around the Intertoobz since yesterday (I also linked to it in Comments on the […]

Ireland, Krugman, Kenneth Thomas

Paul Krugman points to Angry Bear Kenneth Thomas in this piece in the New York Times on the use of Ireland as somehow a success story of what are failed policies regarding employment: Ireland Is The Success Story Of The Future, And Always Will Be Via Mark Thoma, Kenneth Thomas analyzes the latest attempt to […]

The Lessons of the North Atlantic Crisis for Economic Theory and Policy

Re-thinking macro policy: Joseph Stiglits, Davis Romer, Oliver Blanchard at  Columbia University, New York, and co-host of the Conference on Rethinking Macro Policy II: First Steps and Early Lessons. The Lessons of the North Atlantic Crisis for Economic Theory and Policy Posted on May 3, 2013 by iMFdirect   http://blog-imfdirect.imf.org/ post by: Joseph E. Stiglitz In analyzing […]

The IMF and the Return of Structural Conditionality in Europe

The IMF has increased in importance over the last few years, especially in Europe.  Prof. Joyce writes on the background of its evolution. by Joseph P. Joyce  is a Professor of Economics at Wellesley College and the Faculty Director of the Madeleine Korbel Albright Institute for Global Affairs. The IMF and the Return of Structural Conditionality […]

European Policy Makers Don’t Understand But Markets Do

By Rebecca Wilder European Policy Makers Don’t Understand But Markets Do So here we are: the Italian yield curve is flat at above 7%; the government institution is in question; and the ECB is using its SMP purchase program as a carrot to drive austerity implementation in and Berlusconi out. Some would argue that the […]

Retaliating Against Currency Manipulation: A Primer

Kash at The Streetlight points us to other aspects of the world, touching upon the WTO and the IMF roles in global trade and China in particular: Retaliating Against Currency Manipulation: A Primer You’ve probably heard that this week the US Congress has been addressing the issue of how China controls its exchange rate with […]

Simon Johnson has an excellent post

by Mike Kimel An excellent post by Simon Johnson. The managing director of the IMF is the impresario of any bailout. The big decisions must be negotiated with all significant stakeholders but this still leaves enormous scope for discretion. If Ms. Lagarde becomes managing director she can directly influence the terms of IMF involvement – […]