Act with urgency to reform the international monetary system

An IMF restructured to function more equitably would reinforce its role in global monetary and financial governance

- MICHEL CAMDESSUS, ANOOP SINGH & BERNARD SNOY

The global economy is at an impasse. The needs resulting from climate change, attacks on the environment, pandemics, the debt burden of many countries, demographic evolutions, and the ravages of conflicts in Ukraine, Africa and now the Middle East are upsetting the balance of the international financial system and deepening its fragmentation.

The resources necessary to meet these needs are scarcely available, even if we count on the full implementation of the decisions taken at the recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank annual meetings in Marrakech. This points to unacceptable risks on the horizon and feeds the concern of a world threatened with inequalities and dramatic shortages. The world community must take a major initiative without delay, while working to restore multilateral cooperation.

A central element of this initiative should be reform of the international monetary system. There is no paucity of work that has been done in this direction since the Global Financial Crisis (GFS), such as the Palais Royal Initiative, but just a few steps have been adopted. Even if the present political climate does not allow for immediate change, we need to prepare for much needed reforms by identifying the basic pillars of a renovated central institution of the system, the IMF. These pillars would be greater fairness in the IMF’s functioning, an adjustment of its mandate for the 21st century and a reinforcement of its role in global monetary and financial governance.