Strengthening IMF Surveillance: An Assessment Of Recent Reforms

The authors assess the potential impact of recently approved reforms to International Monetary Fund (IMF) surveillance; namely, the "2007 Decision on Bilateral Surveillance Over Members' Policies" and the "Statement of Surveillance Priorities" (SSP). They conclude that these complementary reforms have the potential to create a comprehensive and coherent framework for IMF surveillance. If implemented properly, the reforms could strengthen the effectiveness of surveillance and thus enhance the IMF's ability to prevent crises and maintain a stable international financial system. Moreover, the impact of the reforms would be increased with a few refinements to the application of the 2007 Decision - in particular, a focus on real exchange rate adjustment, rather than exchange rate misalignment - and some evolutionary amendments to the SSP.