Sustainable Governance Indicators 2009: Policy Performance and Executive Capacity in the OECD by Bertelsmann Stiftung

Author:Bertelsmann Stiftung [Stiftung, Bertelsmann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Political Science, General
ISBN: 9783867932561
Google: j9R4DwAAQBAJ
Goodreads: 14639022
Publisher: Verlag Bertelsmann Stiftung
Published: 2009-07-02T00:00:00+00:00

The IMF Country Reports

According to Article IV of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Articles of Agreement, all member states should endeavor to direct their economic and financial policies toward orderly economic growth with reasonable price stability. In order to monitor and support countries in this undertaking, the IMF has established a notification system on foreign-exchange policies, which requires members to supply the fund with all pertinent information. In addition, and if the IMF calls for it, there are also consultations in which all policies affecting exchange rates are discussed. Over the years, this optional provision in the statutes has evolved into regular-and, in most countries, annual- meetings. Since 1997, the IMF has published publicly available reports after these consultations, which all follow a similar structure.27

In these reports, which begin with an executive summary, there is a short presentation of the current economic condition of the country, with specific attention being paid to economic growth, imports and exports, the labor market, national and international competitiveness, and-of course-inflation, a factor of particular importance to the IMF. This presentation is followed by an assessment of the short- to mid-term economic development (one- to two-year prognoses, at most) and a description of current policy debates, which makes up the longest section of the report.

For example, the most recent report for Germany, which is based on consultations in August and September 2006, summarizes the fundamental problems the grand coalition made up of Christian Democrats and Social Democrats faced at that time (IMF 2006).28 The report addresses the following four areas: employment growth, raising productivity, improving the allocation of capital and, lastly, fiscal consolidation and long-term sustainability. Specific political problems are discussed in each of these areas, such as the transition to Unemployment Benefit II as part of the Hartz reforms and their implications for the battle against long-term unemployment or the reform of network industries (e.g., telecommunications, railways, postal services and electricity). These mostly qualitative assessments are substantiated by interspersed statistics, tables and graphs. This-for the most part neutral-presentation is followed by a short section in which the IMF states its views regarding whether the discussed policies are going in the right direction, where further attention is required and what additional steps might be necessary.

On the whole, the IMF Country Reports offer very good descriptions of the economic situation and the reform efforts in individual countries. In this sense, they provide much more valuable and detailed insights than a mere index value ever could. Nevertheless, this wealth of detail is also the greatest shortcoming of the reports, as a systematic comparison between a greater number of countries or within a country over time is not possible. This is due, in the first place, to the length of the individual reports-usually more than 50 pages-which renders an intensive comparison very time-consuming. Second, comparability is also limited by the description of current political and economic problems. The fact that these can differ over time and between countries means that the prerequisite of a comparable database is not met.

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