The Evolution of IMF Conditionality

Abstract

Abstract The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a central actor in global economic governance, often associated with bailout packages for countries in crisis. These packages mandate the introduction of far-ranging and intrusive policy reforms. But in recent years, IMF rhetoric suggests that the organization has radically changed the ways in which it offers financial assistance. This chapter examines to what extent the policy content has changed over time. This is based on archival material on the IMF’s lending operations between 1980 and 2019, covering 65,707 individual conditions across 132 countries in total. The chapter reveals little evidence of a fundamental transformation of IMF conditionality. The organization’s recent programs reincorporated many of the mandated reforms that the organization claims to no longer advocate, and the number of conditions has been increasing.

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