The International Monetary Fund

    Gorshkova G.A.

    The International Monetary Fund 

    The International Monetary Fund, IMF -a specialized UN agency with headquarters in Washington SShA.Na Bretton Woods Conference of the United Nations Monetary and Financial Issues July 22, 1944 was developed framework agreement (Charter IMF ). The most significant contribution to the concept of the IMF have made John Maynard Keynes, who led the British delegation, and Harry DeksterUayt - sotrodnik a senior U.S. Treasury Department. The final version of the agreement the first 29 states have signed on Dec. 27, 1945 - the official date of creation of the IMF. The IMF began operations March 1, 1947 as part of the Bretton Woods system. In the same year, France took the first loan. The IMF brings together 187 countries, and in its structures, working 2500 people from 133 stran.MVF provides short and medium term loans for balance of payments deficit of the state. Providing loans are usually accompanied by a set of conditions and recommendations aimed at improving situatsii.Politika and recommendations of the IMF to developing countries have been criticized, the essence of which lies in the fact that the implementation of the recommendations and conditions ultimately aimed not at improving the independence, stability and development of the national state's economy, but only tying it to international financial flows.

     
The official purpose of the IMF

     
"Promote international cooperation in the monetary sphere"; 
"Facilitate the expansion and balanced growth of international trade for the development of productive resources, to achieve high levels of employment and real income of Member States; 
"Ensure the stability of currencies, to maintain orderly relations among the currency of the Member States" and avoid "the depreciation of currencies in order to gain competitive advantage; 
assist in the establishment of a multilateral system of payments between Member States, as well as eliminating foreign exchange restrictions; 
to provide temporary funds to Member States in a foreign currency, which would give them an opportunity to "correct the imbalance in their balance of payments." 
The main functions of the IMF promoting international cooperation in monetary policy expansion of world trade lending

    Stabilizing monetary exchange notes advice to countries debtors the development of standarts of international financial statistics collection and publication of the international financial statistics

    The structure of government 

    The supreme governing body of the IMF - Board of Governors, in which each member country is represented Governor and his deputy. This is usually finance ministers or central bankers. Administered by the Council is addressing key issues of the Fund: Amendments to the Articles of Agreement, the admission and expulsion of Members, the identification and review of their shares in the capital, the election of Executive Directors. Directors shall meet in session, usually once a year but may meet and vote by mail at any time. The registered capital is about 217 billion SDRs (in January 2008, 1 SDR was equal to approximately 1.5 U.S. dollar). Formed by contributions from member states, each of which typically pays about 25% of its quota in SDRs or in currencies other members, and the remaining 75% - in their national currency. Given the size of quotas allocated votes among member countries in the governing bodies of the IMF. The largest number of votes in the IMF belongs to: United States - 17.8%; Germany - 5,99%; Japan - 6.13% United Kingdom - 4.95% France - 4.95%, Saudi Arabia - 3.22% ; Italy - 4.18% Russia - 2,74%. Proportion of 15 countries in the EU member states - 30,3%, 29 members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development have a combined 60.35% of the votes in the IMF. The remaining countries, which constitute over 84% of members of the Fund, accounts for only 39.75%. The IMF, the principle of "weighted" number of votes: the ability of member countries to influence the activities of the Fund is determined by voting their shares in its capital. Each state has 250 "basic" votes, regardless of the value of its capital contribution and one additional vote for every 100 thousand SDR amount of the fee.In that case, if the country is buying (selling) SDR her during the primary issue of SDRs, the number of votes increases (decreases) by 1 for every 400 thousand purchased (sold) SDR. This correction is carried out not more than 1 / 4 of the number of votes received for the contribution of the country in the capital of the Fund. This procedure provides a decisive majority of votes leading gosudarstvam. Resheniya the Board of Governors are usually made by simple majority (at least half) of votes, but on important matters of operational or strategic in nature - a "special majority" (70 or 85% of the votes of Members ). Despite a slight decrease the proportion of votes the U.S. and the EU, they can still veto key decisions of the Fund, the adoption of which requires the maximum of the majority (85%). This means that the U.S. together with leading Western nations have been able to exercise control over the process of decision-making at the IMF and to direct its activities on the basis of their interests. In the presence of coordinated action by developing countries are also able to avoid making are not satisfied with their decisions. However, to achieve consistency of a large number of disparate countries difficult. At a meeting of heads of the Fund in April 2004, it was the intention to "expand the capacity of developing countries and countries with economies in transition to participate more effectively in decision-making mechanism in the IMF." Significant role in the organizational structure of the IMF is the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC; Eng. International Monetary and Financial Committee). C 1974 to September 1999 by his predecessor, was a temporary committee on the international monetary system. It consists of 24 Governors of the IMF, including from Russia, and plans to hold sessions twice a year. This committee is an advisory body to the Governing Council and has no authority to make policy decisions. Nevertheless, it performs important functions: directs the activities of the Executive Board develops strategic decisions relating to the functioning of the world monetary system, the IMF is the Governing Council proposals to amend the IMF Articles of Agreement. Such a role is also played by the Committee for Development - Joint Ministerial Committee of the Boards of Governors World Bank and the Fund (Joint IMF - World Bank Development Committee). Board of Governors delegates many of its powers to the Executive Board (English Executive Board), that is, the Directorate which is responsible for maintaining of the IMF, including a wide range of political, operational and administrative issues, in particular the provision of loans to member countries and to oversee their exchange rate policy. 
IMF Executive Board selects the five-year term of the Managing Director (born Managing Director), who heads the staff of the Fund (in March 2009 - about 2,478 people from 143 countries). It must be representative of a European country. Managing Director (November 2007) - Dominique Strauss-Kahn (France), his first deputy - John Lipsky (USA).Head of the Permanent Mission of the IMF in Russia - Neven Mates. 
In recent years, Russia has made some positive progress in economic relations with the European Union and the United States, has reached important agreements with the IMF and World Bank, Paris and London Clubs loans. Russia has applied for admission into the World Trade Organization (WTO). Created real preconditions for the inclusion of Russia into the international economic cooperation. However, this process will be difficult both because of the difficulties of transition to a market economy, and because of the long years of alienation from the West. 
 

A list of information sources: 

1)http://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9C%D0%B5%D0%B6%D0%B4%D1%83%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D0%B2%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%8E%D1%82%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D1%84%D0%BE%D0%BD%D0%B4 

    2)http://www.ebrc.ru/library/74190/104568 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The scientific adviser :  
 

    Moskaleva D.R.