IMF Opens Its Doors to Wider Dialogue

Washington meetings offer opportunity for dialogue on world economy

IMF listens to civil society concerns

Calls made for greater IMF transparency and accountability

A record number of representatives at the 2012 IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings from civil society organizations (CSOs), government officials, parliamentarians, academics, and labor representatives had the chance to exchange views with IMF staff on topics related to the global economy.

The meetings brought together more than 6,500 people from the around the world who attended some 280 official events.

Twenty-eight CSO representatives and academics from 22 countries received fellowships to attend the meetings, thus broadening the diversity of the participants in various events, particularly the CSO Policy Forum.

The Civil Society Fellowship Program has helped strengthen and deepen IMF’s interaction with civil society organizations from around the world, but especially with developing and emerging countries. The program has now been extended to academics and youth leaders.

“The fellowships are important to the Fund,” said IMF Deputy Managing Director Nemat Shafik, addressing a CSO reception on April 19. “The IMF is firmly committed to our ongoing engagement with the civil society community.”

Regulating capital flows

How emerging market countries regulate and benefit from capital flows was the subject of a panel discussion organized by the Bretton Woods Project. Vivek Arora, Assistant Director in the IMF Strategy, Policy, and Review Department participated as a discussant in the session. Peter Chowla, coordinator of the Bretton Woods Project and Kevin Gallagher, Associated Professor at Boston University appreciated the evolution in the IMF’s approach to capital flow issues in recent years.

Arora outlined the IMF’s work program so far on policies related to capital flows and welcomed the event as part of the ongoing global dialogue on the issue. He noted that a country’s appropriate degree of openness to capital flows depends on its specific circumstances, particularly its institutional and financial development, and full liberalization may not be an appropriate goal for all countries at all times.

Nonetheless, countries with extensive capital flow restrictions are likely to benefit from further liberalization.

In managing capital flows, it is important for countries to strengthen their capacity to absorb inflows and implement appropriate macroeconomic and financial...