ECON 516T(S) International Financial Institutions
This tutorial will explore the role of international financial institutions in the global economic and financial system, their relations with members, and proposals for how they might be reformed. The focus will be principally on the International Monetary Fund and to a lesser extent the World Bank, but consideration also may be given to the regional development banks, Bank for International Settlements, and Paris Club used for official debt renegotiations. Topics and readings will focus on such issues as: the roles and governance reform of the IMF and World Bank; relations between the two institutions and their relations with other institutions of international finance and governance; lessons from their performance in the Asian, Argentine, and other international financial crises; and the recent initiatives of the Fund and Bank in the global adjustment process, financial system stability (including money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism), public and private sector governance, lending programs, the management of international reserves, and provision of advice to members.
Tutorial meetings will be on Fridays. Participants will meet in pairs with the faculty member. Each week, one student will prepare a policy paper and submit the paper to the professor and to the other student in advance of the meeting. During the meeting, the student who has written the paper will present an argument, evidence, and conclusions. The other student will provide a detailed critique of the paper based on concepts and evidence from the readings. The professor will join the discussion after each participant has presented and ask questions that highlight or illustrate critical points. During the semester each participant will write and present 5 or 6 policy papers and a like number of critiques.
Enrollment will be limited to 10 students who will meet weekly on Fridays in five groups of two. Course is intended for CDE Fellows, undergraduate enrollment limited, and only with permission of the instructor.
Tutorial meetings to be arranged. TRUMAN