IMF economists work closely with member countries on a variety of issues. Their unique perspective on country experiences and best practices on global macroeconomic issues are often shared in the form of books on diverse topics such as cross-country comparisons, capacity building, macroeconomic policy, financial integration, and globalization.
The fundamental recognition in this book is that the issue of what international legal principles are applicable to the operations of the IFIs is an important topic that would benefit from more rigorous study. Twelve deeply committed contributors - whose work spans the academic, policy, and activist spectrum - suggest that a better understanding of these legal issues could help both the organizations and their Member States structure their transactions in ways that are more compatible with their developmental objectives and their international responsibilities.
The open access publication of this book has been published with the support of the Swiss National Science Foundation. In Monetary Stability as a Common Concern in International Law, Lucía Satragno argues that monetary stability is a global public good that must be promoted and protected at all levels of governance. In doing so, the book accomplishes two tasks. On one hand, it provides an up to date analysis of the role of law and institutions in the international monetary field since the collapse of the Bretton Woods system. On the other hand, it applies the methodological approach proposed by the novel doctrine of Common Concern of Humankind to monetary stability as a case study. Accordingly, the book examines not only the status quo of the international monetary system, but also looks at the ‘new and different realism’ that would be envisaged in monetary affairs in the case of a fully-fledged principle of Common Concern.
Since the end of the Great Recession in 2009 the central banks of the advanced countries have taken unprecedented actions to reflate and stimulate their economies. There have been significant differences in the timing and pace of these actions. These independent monetary policy actions have had significant spillover effects on the economies and monetary policy strategies of other advanced countries. In addition the monetary policy actions and interventions of the advanced countries have had a significant impact on the emerging market economies leading to the charge of 'currency wars.' The perceived negative consequences of spillovers from the actions of national central banks has led to calls for international monetary policy coordination. The arguments for coordination based on game theory are the same today as back in the 1980s, which led to accords which required that participant countries follow policies to improve global welfare at the expense of domestic fundamentals. This led to disastrous consequences. An alternative approach to the international spillovers of national monetary policy actions is to view them as deviations from rules based monetary policy. In this view a return to rules based monetary policy and a rolling back of the " global great deviation" by each country's central bank would lead to a beneficial policy outcome without the need for explicit policy coordination. In this book we report the results from a recent conference which brought together academics, market participants, and policy makers to focus on these issues. The consensus of much of the conference was on the need for a classic rules based reform of the international monetary system.
Legal Foundations of International Monetary Stability which appeals to both practitioners and academics, is a book on monetary law and related aspects of financial regulation providing a systematic and thorough study of how national, supra-national and international developments have dramatically changed the dynamic field of monetary law over the last two decades. Beginning with the notion of monetary sovereignty, its attributes and limitations, the author goes on to analyze the concept of monetary stability and the institutional developments to promote it, such as independent central banks and currency boards. Since a sound banking system is essential for maintaining monetary stability, the book also presents a legal study of the design of supervision and of the mechanisms available to the national authorities to confront banking crises and to maintain financial stability. The monetary law reform process in emerging economies is also examined. The second part of the book covers European monetary law, the history of monetary integration in Europe, the institutions of Monetary Union (the European System of Central Banks and the Euro) and the functioning and challenges confronted by this new institutional arrangement, with particular regard to the governance structure for financial regulation and supervision. The international monetary system, its history and institutions, with emphasis on the law of the International Monetary Fund, is also examined. This new text fills a gap in the current public international law literature for a systematic and comprehensive text on the international monetary and financial system and is essential reading for academics and practitioners in the field of monetary law.
Prominent economists reconsider the fundamentals of economic policy for a post-crisis world. In 2011, the International Monetary Fund invited prominent economists and economic policymakers to consider the brave new world of the post-crisis global economy. The result is a book that captures the state of macroeconomic thinking at a transformational moment. The crisis and the weak recovery that has followed raise fundamental questions concerning macroeconomics and economic policy. These top economists discuss future directions for monetary policy, fiscal policy, financial regulation, capital-account management, growth strategies, the international monetary system, and the economic models that should underpin thinking about critical policy choices. Contributors Olivier Blanchard, Ricardo Caballero, Charles Collyns, Arminio Fraga, Már Guðmundsson, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Otmar Issing, Olivier Jeanne, Rakesh Mohan, Maurice Obstfeld, José Antonio Ocampo, Guillermo Ortiz, Y. V. Reddy, Dani Rodrik, David Romer, Paul Romer, Andrew Sheng, Hyun Song Shin, Parthasarathi Shome, Robert Solow, Michael Spence, Joseph Stiglitz, Adair Turner
The 20072010 global financial crisis re-opened the debate on the reform of the international monetary and financial system. This well-argued book demonstrates the strategic role of international economic law (IEL) in ensuring international monetary stability and global financial stability. After discussing the current allocation of powers among IEL institutions, Annamaria Viterbo focuses on monetary measures: exchange restrictions, capital controls and exchange rate manipulations. These three fundamental topics are then examined through the lens of a multi-layered methodology, adopting perspectives from international monetary law, trade law and investment law. The author evaluates how the horizontal sectors in which IEL is traditionally divided interact and how conflicts between norms are avoided or solved. Particular attention is also devoted to the outcomes of trade and investment disputes that deal with monetary measures. International Economic Law and Monetary Measures will appeal to international trade law and international financial law scholars as well as law and business students. Legal practitioners and officials working in the field of international economic law will find it a useful reference, as will legal counsel in banks and financial institutions, international investors and multinational corporations.
