IMF Work Agenda Aims to Lift Global Growth, Address New Risks

  • Fostering global growth—both actual and potential—is a key priority
  • Addressing financial stability risks remains important challenge
  • Agenda stresses multilateral cooperation on cross-cutting issues
  • The work program—which is produced twice a year and discussed by the IMF’s Executive Board—builds on the policy priorities identified in the Global Policy Agenda that was presented by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde at the Spring Meetings in April. Several multilateral issues are in the spotlight, including the post-2015 global development agenda and possible ways to strengthen the international monetary system.

    Siddharth Tiwari, Director of the IMF’s Strategy, Policy, and Review Department, discusses the IMF’s main priorities over the coming months.

    IMF Survey : The IMF has stressed the importance of lifting global growth. How will the institution build on efforts to help countries develop fiscal policies that support growth?

    Tiwari: Global growth is uneven and still not strong enough to generate employment for the more than 200 million people who are still unemployed seven years after the global financial crisis. We need growth-friendly fiscal policies—within a credible policy framework—to help support a durable recovery, while also taking steps to ensure the medium-term sustainability of public finances.

    To help achieve this, the IMF will assist its members in developing fiscal policies to support both short- and long-term growth by using a combination of policy advice, technical assistance, and training.

    Examples include a forthcoming study on Fiscal Policy and Long-Term Growth, which explores links between expenditure, revenue reforms and long-term growth, and the just-released paper Making Public Investment More Efficient, which examines ways to reform public investment frameworks to maximize the growth impact of investment while ensuring an efficient use of public resources.

    We plan to issue a joint report in October with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the United Nations, and the World Bank on the effective use of investment tax incentives in low-income countries. Next year, we will also evaluate trends and draw policy lessons on public spending on employee compensation and employment and take a closer look at fiscal anchors and fiscal policy frameworks.

    IMF Survey : What further work is planned to help countries carry out critical structural reforms?

    Tiwari: The importance of structural...

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