Waterloo, Ontario – October 8, 2013 – The 2013 annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will focus on the policy challenges facing the global economy, as it moves from the “Great Recession” to the “Great Transition,” on its way to a stable and sustained recovery. This is among the conclusions in a new series of commentaries from The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), which look ahead to the IMF and World Bank meetings later this week.
According to Domenico Lombardi, Director of CIGI’s Global Economy Research Program, one thing that won’t feature high on the meetings’ agenda is IMF reform.
“With no hard deliverables on IMF reform from these meetings, but some disappointment from foreign ministerial delegations instead, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde will squarely focus on a policy narrative that will outline the challenges facing the global economy from the ‘Great Recession’ to the ‘Great Transition’ on its way to a stable and sustained recovery,” Lombardi writes in his commentary A Preview of the IMF Annual Meetings, which is one of eight in the new series.
Other conclusions in the series include:
- Without meaningful improvement in growth prospects, Italy will likely continue to struggle and questions remain whether the country’s political system can finally coalesce around a comprehensive package of structural reforms;
- The political stalemate in Washington is a distraction from IMF business, and can only further hinder reform of the IMF, which requires Congressional approval;
- The prognosis is not favourable that the IMF will follow through on past statements on advancing the case for “green growth that respects environmental sustainability,” and;
- Improving central bank communications in support of global growth is needed for monetary policy to be a source of certainty, and not uncertainty.
For more information on the series, including free PDF downloads of all eight commentaries, visit http://www.cigionline.org/series/annual-meetings-of-world-bank-group-and-international-monetary-fund.
MEDIA CONTACTS:
In Washington, DC: Declan Kelly, Communications Specialist, CIGI
Tel: (+1) 519.573.2703, Email: [email protected]
Kevin Dias, Communications Specialist, CIGI
Tel: 519.885.2444, ext. 7238, Email: [email protected]
The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) is an independent, non-partisan think tank on international governance. Led by experienced practitioners and distinguished academics, CIGI supports research, forms networks, advances policy debate and generates ideas for multilateral governance improvements. Conducting an active agenda of research, events and publications, CIGI’s interdisciplinary work includes collaboration with policy, business and academic communities around the world. CIGI was founded in 2001 by Jim Balsillie, then co-CEO of Research In Motion (BlackBerry), and collaborates with and gratefully acknowledges support from a number of strategic partners, in particular the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario. For more information, please visit www.cigionline.org.