Open Conference on IMF Conditionality

Open Conference on IMF Conditionality
Plenumssalen – Government Building R4
Einar Gerhardsens plass 1

10 January 2008

 

 

Background:

The International Monetary Fund is an important institution with large influence in many developing countries. Any government that receives an IMF loan must accept the structural reforms specified in its loan programme. Such institutional and procedural reforms are intended to support long-term macroeconomic goals. Yet, IMF conditionality has been criticised as misguided and intrusive to country ownership. An initiative adopted by the IMF in 2002 seeks to streamline conditionality by requiring conditions to be set parsimoniously and only to the extent they are critical for the success of a programme. At the conference, the IMF’s Independent Evaluation Office will present a recently published report that evaluates the impact of the streamlining initiative on IMF conditionality.

 

 

Key questions to be addressed:

• What is the current IMF practice of structural conditionality, and in particular what has been the impact of the streamlining initiative?
• To what extent do we need structural conditionality and how should it be developed, formulated, implemented and monitored at the country level?
• Are there conflicts between national ownership, the leverage needed for economic reform, policy space, and the design of political strategies well suited to the particular circumstances of each country? If so, how should such conflicts be addressed?

 More information: IEO Evaluation of Structural Conditionality in IMF-Supported Programs

 

 

Conference contacts:

Kyrre Stensnes, e-mail: kyrre.stensnes@fin.dep.no, phone (+47) 22 24 45 05

Halvor Hvideberg, e-mail: halvor.hvideberg@fin.dep.no, phone (+47) 22 24 44 84

 

 

 See the web cast from the conference

 

Conference programme

Thursday 10 January 2008

 

08.30	Registration and coffee
09.00	Opening and welcome by Kristin Halvorsen, Minister of Finance
09.15	Ruben Lamdany, Assistant Director, Independent Evaluation Office (IEO) presents the report: ”An IEO Evaluation of Structural Conditionality in IMF-supported Programs”
10.00	Prepared comments by four discussants - Roger Schjerva, State Secretary, Ministry of Finance - Benedicte Bull, Centre for Development and the Environment, Oslo - Jostein Hole Kobbeltvedt, Norwegian Church Aid and Forum for Environment and Development - Juan Zalduendo, IMF
10.45	Coffee and snacks
11.15	Panel discussion with questions and comments from the floor Panellists: Benedicte Bull, Ruben Lamdany, Juan Zalduendo, Jostein Kobbeltvedt, Roger Schjerva. Chair: Haakon Vennemo
12.30	Final comments and close

 

Contributors

Ruben Lamdany, Assistant Director, Independent Evaluation Office of the IMF
Benedicte Bull, Senior Research Fellow, Centre for Development and the Environment
Kristin Halvorsen, Minister of Finance
Jostein Hole Kobbeltvedt, Adviser Global Economics, Norwegian Church Aid
Roger Schjerva, State Secretary, Ministry of Finance
Haakon Vennemo, ECON Analysis
Juan Zalduendo, Acting Division Chief, Policy Review Division, Policy Development and Review Department, IMF