IMF

IMF (International Monetary Fund) One of the central institutions to emerge in 1945 from the Bretton Woods Conference, it was designed to stabilize the international economy through the exchange rate, and through the provision of short-term help for member countries which faced a liquidity or balance-of-payments problem. Its central tasks, therefore, were defined as economic surveillance, financial assistance, and technical assistance. Its role changed significantly with the onset of decolonization, as the countries in greatest need of economic assistance were now the new states in Asia and Africa. Its significance was further enhanced with the retreat of Communism from these continents in the 1980s, and the collapse of Communism in eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. As a result of these developments, the number of countries within the purview of the IMF increased once again, so that by 2002 it had 183 member states. The power of the IMF derives from its principle of conditionality, whereby credits to overcome liquidity problems are conditional upon domestic structural economic reforms. This has given the IMF enormous economic, cultural, and political power over debt-ridden countries with no choice but to accept its conditions. Heavily under pressure to cancel world debt, the IMF and its sister institution, the World Bank, have granted substantial debt relief under the HIPC Initiative.

http://www.imf.org