IMF’s new Managing Director and his cuts

IMF is planning on cutting its staff by 15 percent. We open our readers especially staff from the Fund to comment on this proposal. Two issues we put on the table.

• The Fund has played an important role in capacity building poor developing country governments – and its success is probably better than World Bank in this area. How would it affect this role?

• The Fund has allowed and facilitated discussion of some taboo topics- like the effectiveness of foreign aid and on effects of globalization. Ask Dani Rodrik if you’re not sure;

Over the years I have been quite surprised by the assistance I have received from the IMF both in generating and also disseminating my ideas. My first book, "Has Globalization Gone too Far?", which was published in 1997 and which Prakash referred to, was actually written when I was a Visiting Scholar in the IMF's Research Department, not exactly the place that you would think that the ideas in that book would have necessarily originated. So there are interesting ways in which the IMF has been subversive and it gets too much criticism for not being open to different ideas--or maybe for surreptitiously promoting them in my case.

So how would the above two issues be affected with the downsizing? Or any other comments welcome.

Related;
Leaked document relating to IMF budget cuts