[Peace-discuss] Fwd: [recovery_human_face] The IMF and inclusive growth: achieving SDG8

Tue Sep 3 16:21:36 UTC 2019

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From: lara.merling at ituc-csi.org<mailto:lara.merling at ituc-csi.org> (Merling, Lara)
Subject: [recovery_human_face] The IMF and inclusive growth: achieving SDG8
Date: September 3, 2019 at 08:15:40 PDT

Dear friends,

Under the leadership of Christine Lagarde, the IMF endorsed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and portrayed itself as a champion of inclusive growth. However, little changed in IMF loan agreements, which continued to push the same harmful austerity and deregulation measures of the past. The next leader of the IMF needs to change the core operations of the institution to promote sustainable economic growth, full employment and decent work.

The IMF has not meaningfully supported the SDGs, and its policies undermine the ability of countries to achieve the 2030 Agenda. To illustrate this point, let’s take a look at SDG 8: “promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work.”

In a recent report, the International Labour Organization (ILO) shows that the world is not on track to achieve SDG 8 by 2030. For that to change, a major shift in macroeconomic policies is needed.

Orthodox economic policy models, like those promoted by the IMF, focus on supply-side measures and assume that growth will eventually trickle-down. Reality has shown that this is not the case. Furthermore, these models have failed to bring sustained growth the developing world.

Under the guise of “efficiency” the IMF has worked at odds with a decent work growth agenda,  often undermined labour market institutions, pushing for cuts in public wage bills, deregulation and weakening of workers’ rights. This approach, along with sharp spending cuts, lead to a downwards spiral in which the economy shrinks, unemployment grows, poverty soars, and aggregate demand in the economy collapses. The IMF itself admitted that most loan programmes fail to meet  growth targets.

As the ILO points out, an approach that puts  decent work  at the centre and supports productive investment can create a virtuous cycle of sustained and inclusive growth. The higher earnings for workers increase demand, which in turn boosts economic growth. The success of this approach can be seen in the case of Portugal, which cast aside the austerity policies of the IMF after exiting a loan. Portugal increased its social protection spending, minimum wages, and investment. These policies not only helped economic and social recovery but strengthened its finances too – the stated but elusive goal of austerity.

Christine Lagarde understood that the IMF needed to change in order to maintain its credibility.  However, new rhetoric without substantive action can only be a viable strategy for so long. There are alternatives to the IMF’s approach which have shown much greater promise in achieving inclusive growth and bringing the world closer to meeting the goals of the 2030 Agenda. The IMF’s new leader should listen to the ILO and change the macroeconomic policy model that is promoted through policy advice and lending. This means moving beyond  talk about policies that benefit the many toward actually supporting economic policies for inclusive, job-rich growth.

[This post originally appeared on imfboss.com<https://imfboss.com/2019/08/19/the-imf-and-inclusive-growth-achieving-sdg8/#more-922> on August 19]
The IMF and inclusive growth: achieving SDG8<https://imfboss.com/2019/08/19/the-imf-and-inclusive-growth-achieving-sdg8/#more-922>

Lara Merling
Economic Research Officer, ITUC/Global Unions Washington Office
lara.merling at ituc-csi.org<mailto:lara.merling at ituc-csi.org>
+1 202 974 8120
www.ituc-csi.org<https://www.ituc-csi.org/> // www.global-unions.org/?lang=en<http://www.global-unions.org/?lang=en>

From: recoveryhumanface-request at socpro.list.ilo.org<mailto:recoveryhumanface-request at socpro.list.ilo.org> <recoveryhumanface-request at socpro.list.ilo.org<mailto:recoveryhumanface-request at socpro.list.ilo.org>> On Behalf Of Emma Burgisser
Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2019 1:22 PM
To: recoveryhumanface at socpro.list.ilo.org<mailto:recoveryhumanface at socpro.list.ilo.org>
Subject: [recovery_human_face] BWP launches IMF Article IV Scanner

Dear friends,
*apologies for cross-posting*
We are delighted to officially launch the Article IV Scanner<https://articleivscanner.imfmonitor.org/>. This tool is designed to enable CSOs, researchers and officials to search IMF Article IV documents (IMF country-level surveillance reports) dating back to the year 2000, for key words and phrases (without having to trawl through each document individually!), and was made possible thanks to the tireless efforts of our colleague, Ella Hopkins. You can search all countries, or specific particular countries and dates, depending on what you’re looking for. Further instructions can be found on the website itself.
This tool aims to make IMF surveillance, one of the IMF’s three main activities, more transparent, accessible and open to critical perspectives, especially ahead of its Comprehensive Surveillance Review consultation which is expected to take place in Autumn of this year. It is kindly hosted by the IMF Monitor<http://www.imfmonitor.org/> website, which also houses the first freely available, comprehensive and transparent database of IMF conditionality, and more general information about IMF surveillance<http://www.imfmonitor.org/imf-surveillance.html>.
Please do share as widely as you can with your networks and let us know if there are any feedback or questions,
Best,
Emma Burgisser
Gender Project Manager
The Bretton Woods Project

33-39 Bowling Green Lane, London UK EC1R 0BJ
Tel: +44 (0)20 3122 0723
skype: eburgisserbwp
email: eburgisser at brettonwoodsproject.org<mailto:eburgisser at brettonwoodsproject.org>

The Bretton Woods Project: Critical voices on the World Bank and IMF
www.brettonwoodsproject.org,<http://www.brettonwoodsproject.org/> Follow us on Twitter: @brettonwoodspr
The Bretton Woods Project is an ActionAid-hosted project, UK registered charity No. 274467
England and Wales Charity No. 274467, Scottish Charity No. SC045476
_____________________

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