In support of Georgieva
Joseph Stiglitz in this commentary highlights Georgieva’s achievements as managing director of the IMF:
- During the pandemic she responded quickly by providing funds to keep countries afloat and to address the health crisis;
- She successfully advocated for a $650 billion issuance of SDRs;
- She has positioned the IMF to play a leadership role in climate change mitigation.
Stiglitz also refutes the WilmerHale report. So why the commotion against Georgieva?
One can add to this mix the isolationist strand of American politics – embodied by Malpass, a Trump appointee – combined with a desire to undermine President Joe Biden by creating one more problem for an administration facing so many other challenges.
A Coup Attempt at the IMF
By: Joseph Stiglitz – Columbia University
The case against Georgieva?
Anne Kruger, a former World Bank chief economist, argues in this commentary that the evidence against Georgieva is convincing and as a result has been the reason for which the World Bank has stopped publishing the “Doing Business” report. According to Kruger, the report was the single most important publication of the World Bank since the procedure for determining the rankings was transparent, and the indicators as objective as possible. Finally, the report had inspired governments to implement policies that reduced costs and increased productivity.
If an IMF managing director is thought to be amenable to pressures to alter data and analyses, the credibility of the Fund’s work will be greatly diminished, if it is believed at all. It is one thing for the managing director to urge the Board to approve a program of questionable merit based on a report providing an honest account of the situation. It is quite another thing to pressure staff to alter the numbers.
The Bretton Woods Credibility Crisis
By: Anne O. Krueger – Johns Hopkins University
Was the “Doing Business” report controversial?
In January 2018, shortly after the China incident, Nobel laureate Paul Romer resigned as chief economist of the World Bank, after calling into question the way in which Chile, under the social democratic government of Michelle Bachelet, had been repeatedly downgraded in the Doing Business rankings. He suspected foul play on the part of the staff involved with the index at the World Bank. At the time, none other than Georgieva took to the pages of the Wall Street Journal to defend the integrity of the index. And before resigning, Romer backed away from some of his criticisms.
An IMF-Crisis Made In America
By: Adam Tooze – Columbia University
