PROJECT DESCRIPTION

In the wake of the global financial crisis that began in 2008, the need for economic cooperation among major powers is more urgent than ever. This is particularly true on the issue of trade and capital flow imbalances, and in the area of financial regulation.

The first paper under this project, A Flop and a Debacle: Inside the IMF's Global Rebalancing Acts, offers a detailed account of the initiatives, led by the International Monetary Fund, to address the imbalances in the years prior to the crisis. It is based on interviews with scores of policy makers who were involved and on thousands of pages of confidential documents that have never been previously disclosed.

The second paper, How Global Watchdogs Missed a World of Trouble, focuses on the Financial Stability Forum Stability Forum, and will also provide extensive new information about pre-crisis policy based on confidential documents and interviews.  By laying bare how poorly these institutions performed before the crisis, the papers will help inform the debate on whether the current efforts to address these issues are on a more promising track.