The Unassuming Economist

From a paper by Sezer Ferhad:

“The International Monetary Fund is one of the most important international financial institutions, which aims to protect and ensure the development of the global financial system as well as the development of developing countries. The IMF has been the go-to source for help during many times of crisis, and the latest financial and economic crisis following the COVID-19 pandemic was no different. Many countries required aid and policy guidance in order to ensure a fast and strong recovery from the pandemic, and the IMF assumed the role to provide the much-needed support tied to its conditionalities. The aid provided by the IMF had a significant impact on many aspects of economies and led to a considerably quicker recovery, to the surprise of many. The impact of the IMF with regard to rebuilding market trust and financial stability led to a commendable recovery. However, there were several shortcomings as well. The opportunity provided by the need for an economic recovery to reshape economics into a more inclusive, green economic understanding and to reduce inequalities was underutilized, and the characteristic austerity policies of the Fund continued to create new struggles for developing countries with vulnerability. The aim of this paper is to understand the role and impact of the IMF during the post-pandemic economic recovery.”