Вариант 15.

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International Monetary Fund and World Bank

Text A. International Monetary Fund: objectives and history.

The purpose of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is to promote international monetary cooperation through a permanent institution that provides the machinery for consultation and collaboration on international monetary problems. Specifically, the function of the IMF is to facilitate the expansion and balanced growth of international trade, to promote orderly and stable foreign currency exchange markets, and to contribute to balance of payments adjustment. To further these objectives, the IMF monitors members' macroeconomic policies, makes financial resources available to them in times of balance of payments difficulties, and provides them with technical assistance in a number of areas.

Much of the IMF's work is centered on annual consultations with each member country to ensure that its national policies in the area of economic growth, price stability, financial conditions, and exchange rates take into account their consequences for the world economy and avoid unfair exchange policies. To ensure compliance with these basic tenets, the Fund is empowered to exercise firm surveillance over the exchange rate policies of member countries.

History

The IMF's charter, embodied in the Articles of Agreement, was agreed upon at the International Monetary and Financial Conference held at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, in July 1944. In December 1945 the required number of countries had ratified the agreements, and in March 1946 the first meeting of the Board of Governors was held. The IMF commenced operations on March 1, 1947, at its headquarters in Washington, D.C. Other milestones in the history of the IMF include:

• May 1948. first drawing of foreign exchange by a member country;

• January 1962, adoption of the general agreements to borrow (GAB), which constituted an important supplement to the IMF's financial resources;

• February 1963, establishment of the compensatory financing facility, designed to assist countries that experience a temporary shortfall in export earnings;

- June 1969, inception of the buffer stock financing facility, which can be used to finance commodity stockpiles;

- July 1969, adoption of the first amendment to the Articles of Agreement, providing for the allocation of special drawing rights (SDRs) to member countries, with the first allocation of SDRs made on January 1, 1970;

• September 1974, implementation of the extended fund facility, which provides medium-term assistance to member countries seeking to overcome structural balance of payments problems

• April 1975, establishment of an oil facility to help oil-importing countries finance the increase in petroleum prices;

• February 1976, establishment of the Trust Fund, funded by revenues from gold sales, to aid developing countries with low-interest assistance;

• August 1977, establishment of the supplementary financing facility to make additional resources available to member countries requiring balance of payments financing in larger amounts and for longer periods;

• April 1978, adoption of the second amendment to the articles providing for liberalized exchange arrangements, the legalization of floating exchange rates, steps designed to eliminate the role of gold in the international monetary system, and enunciation of the goal to make the SDR the central international monetary reserve asset;

• March 1986, establishment of a structural adjustment facility to provide balance of payments assistance to qualifying members in support of macroeconomic and structural adjustment programs;

• December 1987, the establishment of the Enhanced Structural Adjustment Trust to provide loans on concessional terms to eligible members to support programs to strengthen substantially and in a sustainable manner their balance of payment position;

- August 1988. expansion of the compensatory financing facility to include a contingency financing element under which additional financing may be provided to support adjustment programs that might be thrown off track by adverse exogenous developments.