Why White, Not Keynes? Inventing the Post-War International Monetary System

The Politics of IMF Lending

“…According to Reiffel (2003: 236), the G7 and officials in the public sector in general are very reluctant to cooperate with the financial sector for fear of the negative implications. Overall, I find that historical accounts of the IMF lend little support to the argument concerning a "Wall Street-Treasury-IMF Complex" (Horsefield 1969;De Vries 1976Boughton 2001). Moreover, international bureaucrats should have very strong incentives not to release information to private actors.…”

“…Instead, they can take part in informal discussions with the managing director and staff who will signal if the Board is likely to approve their application for assistance (Horsefield 1969: 198;Boughton 2001). A similar process continues after a country enters into a program.…”

“…This is a puzzling omission, considering that there is not much of a gap in voting power between the United States and the Fund's other large shareholders. While most empirical studies of IMF behavior omit the role of the other shareholders there is also, at the same time, a commonly held view among leading international economists and policymakers that the Fund's largest shareholders have substantial input into the IMF's broader goals and mission (Boughton 2001;Rieffel 2003;Fratianni and Pattison 2004;Roubini and Setser 2004).…”

“…It is not surprising that this division existed between the two main powers following the Second World War. From its pre-eminent position in the international system, the United States preferred discretion because it had more power than other governments to influence operations (James 1996;Boughton 2002).…”

“…We also have many accounts of their cooperation in international finance and their ability to set the agenda of the IOs that operate in this area ( James 1996;Boughton 2001;IEO 2008). The political power of the United States and the United Kingdom in the organization is derived from their legacy as its creators.…”