A suitable case for treatment? Understanding the ongoing debate about the IMF.

The International Monetary Fund has been in the spotlight over recent years, particularly in the context of its involvement in the East Asian economies following the 1997-98 crisis. Various reports on aspects of the international financial system have made recommendations for reforming the IMF. Having provided a brief historical and empirical background, this paper identifies the underlying issues in the ongoing debate: does the world still need the IMF, should the Fund be an adjustment or lending institution, what should be its relationship with private capital markets, should it be a crisis averter, crisis lender or crisis manager, does it have a long term lending role in developing countries and is there too much overlap with the World Bank, do Fund programmes work and what is the future for conditionality, should the Fund's organisational structure be reformed, and how should the Fund be financed? The paper distinguishes between areas of consensus and dissent and briefly assesses the chances of reform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]