Books by James Raymond (Yale University Vreeland

Provides an introduction to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and an overview of its debates and controversies. This book addresses questions, such as: Where did the IMF come from? What does it do? Why do so many governments participate in its programs? And what are their effects? How can we best reform this key global institution?

This book argues that governments enter IMF programs for economic and political reasons, and finds that the effects are negative. For certain constituencies, IMF policies dampen the effects of bad economic performance by redistributing income. But IMF programs lower growth and shift the income distribution upward.