Changing with the Times

• Author: Gita Bhatt
• Position: Editor-in-chief
• Pages: 2-2

EDITOR'S LETTER

ON THE COVER

For our 75th anniversary cover, illustrator John Cuneo depicts a fictional conversation

between current IMF head Christine Lagarde and founder John Maynard Keynes, who

travels through time to visit the IMF of today.

Changing with

the Times

IF LORD KEYNES, who helped usher in the post–World War II economic

order at the Bretton Woods conference, visited the IMF today, he would

be astonished at the institution’s evolution. He would nd a modern IMF

able to help countries with new tools for analy zing nancial risks and

external imba lances and take on income inequalit y, corruption, and climate

change. He would mar vel at our universal membersh ip, diverse sta, and

female head. He would also nd a world transformed by new emerging

powers and technologies that link countries and markets at light speed.

Keynes would understand today’s reality too. He saw it all before: grow-

ing economic and political nationalism, fraying of alliances, and sharply

declining support for multilateralism. Yet he wouldn’t despair. With his

characteristic energy, Keynes would call for a renewed commitment to

global economic cooperation.

In this issue marking the IMF’s 75th anniversary, we heed his call by

turning to the sha rpest minds to assess the cha llenges to come and how best

to confront them. Martin Wolf and Mohamed El-Erian consider how the

IMF must continue to change to fac e new realities and better serve its mem-

ber countries. We also look at key global trends. K eyu Jin foresees volatility

as China integrates f ully into global nancia l markets. Pinelopi Goldberg

focuses on the uncertainties around trade, and R aghuram Rajan discusses

how best to manage growin g ows of capital across borders.

For IMF Managing Dire ctor Christine Lagarde, the a nswer lies in a “new”

multilateralism— one that puts people at the center of all our eorts. It

means ensuring t hat governments and institutions work to attain common

goals for a prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable future.

Just as the IMF has adapted to change since 1944, it will continue to

evolve and innovate to serve the needs of global e conomic harmony. Keynes

and the 44 delegates that created the institution would be proud.

GITA BHATT, editor-in-chief

2 FINANCE & DEVELOPMENT | June 2019

FINANCE & DEVELOPMENT

A Quarterly Publication of the

International Monetary Fund

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF:

Gita Bhatt

MANAGING EDITOR:

Maureen Burke

SENIOR EDITORS:

Glenn Gottselig

Natalie Ramírez-Djumena

Chris Wellisz

ASSISTANT EDITORS:

Marie Boursiquot

Bruce Edwards

DIGITAL EDITOR:

Rahim Kanani

ONLINE EDITOR:

Lijun Li

PRODUCTION MANAGER:

Melinda Weir

COPY EDITOR:

Lucy Morales

ADVISORS TO THE EDITOR:

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