The IMF Doesn’t Need to Be More Democratic
The countries that call the shots at the fund would be less inclined to underwrite the system if it weren’t in their selfish interest to do so.
The IMF is fine the way it is.
Photographer: MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty ImagesThis is “IMF week,” when diplomats, board members, economists and many others connected to the International Monetary Fund gather to discuss business. On top of that, controversy has surrounded the fund’s top official, Kristalina Georgieva, over her earlier role in overseeing the World Bank’s Doing Business index. And so questions are being raised anew about the mission of the fund, its reliability and whether it should always be led by a European, as has been the custom.
Don’t we need to somehow reform the IMF? Shouldn’t the fund be led by “the best person,” regardless of national origin? Should it somehow be more democratic?