The U.S. helped establish the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to help economies recover after World War II, to prevent a reversion to protectionist policies that contributed to the Great Depression’s depth and duration, and to help spur economic growth and development in poor or newly independent countries. With the expiration of fixed exchange rates in the early 1970s, the IMF’s original mission ceased; it assumed such new missions as bailing out developing countries in financial crises. Yet it lacks the authority and resources to address threats to today’s international financial system; it should downsize and be fundamentally reformed.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) recently weakened its long-held institutional support for the free flow of capital across national borders. The IMF’s new view, described most clearly in a document entitled “The Liberalization and Management of Capital Flows: An Institutional View,”[1] which was endorsed by the IMF governors in December 2012, is that temporary…
Abstract: Promoting economic freedom at home and abroad is essential to revitalizing the U.S. economy. In 2010, for the first time ever, the United States fell from the ranks of the economically free in the Index of Economic Freedom, and economic freedom in the U.S. has continued to decline. The U.S. influence can be decisive in promoting property rights and…
Abstract: In Argentina, the rule of law and free-market principles have been weakened dramatically over the past decade. Under the leadership of Nestor and Cristina Kirchner, economic freedom in Argentina has been in a virtual freefall, corruption has been rampant, and the government’s ties to strongmen in the region, such as Venezuela’s Hugo Chávez, are…
Abstract: The number of Americans who pay taxes continues to shrink—and the United States is close to the point at which half of the population will not pay taxes for government benefits they receive. In 2009, 64.3 million Americans depended on the government (read: their fellow citizens) for their daily housing, food, and health care. Starting in 2015, the Social…
Revised and updated October 23, 2012. Washington’s reckless spending spree of the past several years and unwillingness to confront the mountains of debt coming soon from unreformed federal entitlement programs threaten the economic and social future of the generation currently between the ages of 5 and 30. The 115 million Americans in this Debt-Paying…
Abstract: Multilateralism is not an end in itself. It is one of many foreign policy tools, admittedly a very important one, in the diplomatic kit. For the United States, multilateralism faces its greatest challenge at the United Nations, where the all-too-frequent clash of worldviews between liberty and authoritarian socialism has stymied multilateralism more than…
This year, the U.S. public debt is projected to reach 62 percent of the economy—up from 40 percent in 2008 and nearly double the historical average, according to recent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates. The financial crisis and recession drove much of this debt swing, yet larger problems loom in the future. By 2030, the CBO projects that debt will more than…
Abstract: Year after year, The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Dependence on Government documents the ever-growing number of federal aid programs and the ever-growing number of Americans who rely on government subsidies for their existence. The number of Americans who now pay no taxes has passed 35 percent. The International Monetary Fund predicts financial…
Abstract: Long-run federal spending is wildly unsustainable, as almost everyone from right to left agrees. Under President Obama, this long-run problem has been married to an almost equally unsustainable short-run problem of deficit spending. Thus, to watch developments in Europe today is to peer through a clear window into America’s own future. As the nation runs…
This weekend, the Eurozone members and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) proposed a €110 billion ($140 billion) rescue package for the struggling Greek economy. In exchange for imposing tough austerity measures—including a three-year public sector pay freeze, an increase in taxes, and a liberalization of labor laws—Eurozone countries will provide €80 billion in…
Abstract: Is there a role for government in the economy? Yes, says Heritage analyst Karen Campbell--but the government must focus on maintaining economic stability. Fiscal responsibility is an important part of that stability. Government debt can quickly become a burden on the economy and weaken its foundations. Sound macroeconomic policies enhance the…
When President Obama leads the U.S. delegation to the April 17-19 Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, the whole neighborhood will be watching. The summit will be Obama's first multilateral meeting with all 34 democratically elected Latin American heads of state (excluding Cuba). Confronted by serious economic problems domestically and unprecedented…
The G-20 Summit in London promised to bring together the heads of the world's leading nations to address the global financial crisis. Instead, the summit agreed on measures that are by turn weak, vague, and sinister. When the summit dealt with the current crisis, it failed to move beyond platitudes or to acknowledge the failure of most of its members to live up to…
On July 7, Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev will meet for their first full-fledged summit in Moscow. The two countries may have a window of opportunity to re-launch their relationship, which has been set back by Russia's intransigent positions and its litany of demands. While some in the U.S. believe that rhetoric alone can revitalize the…
The G-20 convenes again this week, once more generating high hopes that progress can be made in addressing the economic crisis. Due to its size and diversity, the G-20 is an unwieldy body. Hence much of the media spotlight has shone on smaller groups, such as the U.S. and Western Europe.[1] Some observers have focused on the U.S. and the PRC as the world's largest…
A last-minute accord struck early Monday morning between Cypriot authorities and International Monetary Fund and...…
As President Obama visits Israel, one of the biggest elephants in the room is the ongoing financial crisis just across...…
The Republic of Cyprus has agreed to a eurozone bailout that will raid the bank accounts of Cyprus residents. In July...…
Argentina’s government is having a terrible week. The bad week started when the nation was censured by the...…
You may be wondering whether anyone, after all, went over the fiscal cliff at the end of December. News reports…
Followers of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have long joked that the fund’s acronym stands for “It’s Mostly...…
The Senate canceled next week's recess to address the country's debt crisis. It's an issue in the headlines every day...…
A dire prediction hit the news yesterday: A date has been set for the end of the "Age of America," — i.e., when China's...…
The Washington Post reported today that the International Monetary Fund and various world governments warned U.S....…
When Britain’s new Chief Secretary to the Treasury, David Laws, walked into his office last week, he found a letter...…
Founder