IMF Invites Civil Society Input on Its Surveillance Role

IMF to review how it assesses the economies of its member countries

Review will look at effectiveness and evenhandedness of IMF surveillance

Civil society welcome to provide input via online consultation

The consultation with CSOs will form part of the 2014 Triennial Surveillance Review, a periodic evaluation of how well the IMF assesses the risks and prospects for economies around the world.

To ensure broad input from civil society, an online consultation on the 2014 review will be open until April 30, 2014.

Strengthening IMF surveillance

The IMF reviews the effectiveness of its economic analysis and policy advice—known as surveillance—every three years, and makes recommendations for improvement. The latest triennial surveillance review was completed by the IMF’s Executive Board in October 2011.

The 2011 review found that although the IMF’s advice was seen as timely and responsive during the global financial crisis, surveillance before the crisis suffered from a number of weaknesses. In particular, the IMF needed to do more to promote analysis of interconnectedness, risks, financial stability, external stability, and traction of surveillance. In response, the IMF’s Managing Director proposed an action plan to make surveillance more effective, candid, and evenhanded.

Since 2011, the IMF has taken a number of steps to improve surveillance. These include:

• a reform of the IMF’s legal framework so the institution can better examine outward spillovers from one region or sector onto the global economy;

• the deepening of risk assessments in country staff reports, supported by the introduction of “risk assessment matrices”;

• the development of a financial surveillance strategy to improve risk identification and...