Boston University. University Professors Program Senior theses. / PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at open-help@bu.edu. Thank you. / 2999-01-01

This thesis aims to complicate conventional understandings of the way in which the "conditionally" of the International Monetary Fund operates in relation to North/South relations. Part One is comprised of three sections. The first section is a brief introduction to the context of the project, namely the need to re-examine the contemporary roles of international economic institutions in what is perceived to be a globalizing economic environment. The second section provides an outline of the methodologies being used in the paper. In this regard, the author will explain the need to compile a historical genealogy of the legal development of Fund conditionality vis a vis the South, and describe the interdisciplinary approaches to discourse analysis taken in the paper. The third section briefly sets out the origins of the International Monetary Fund and provides a background to the Fund's conditionality. Part Two is a detailed account, or historical genealogy, of the way in which the IMF became involved in the business of lending to the South. This account is directed at tracing the transformation of the Fund through what the author considers to be three major developments in the evolution of Fund conditionality. The transformation which the author argues took place was a transformation of the role of the Fund from an institution concerned primarily with managing monetary institutions between industrialised nations to a surveillance organisation directed at providing information about the Third World to the First World. Part Three takes the idea of the contemporary role of the Fund as a surveillance organisation revealed in the preceding section and explores what discursive functions the Fund might be performing in the context of the relationship between North and South. In this regard the author identifies two major themes underlying IMF discourse about the Third World both of which suggest that an underlying sense of danger of the Third World is felt by the First World, and that this sense of danger replicates older fears. The author then examines the discursive practices employed to address these fears and the extent to which they too resonate with older discursive strategies. The author then considers why the reoccurrence of these older discursive technologies might be problematic. Part Four provides some closing comments about the insights gained from the preceding analysis. In doing so, it offers a tentative suggestion for how we might productively disrupt the colonial continuum of which the discursive practices described above seem to form part.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Los Angeles, 1992. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 202-219).

This thesis aims to complicate conventional understandings of the way in which the "conditionally" of the International Monetary Fund operates in relation to North/South relations. Part One is comprised of three sections. The first section is a brief introduction to the context of the project, namely the need to re-examine the contemporary roles of international economic institutions in what is perceived to be a globalizing economic environment. The second section provides an outline of the methodologies being used in the paper. In this regard, the author will explain the need to compile a historical genealogy of the legal development of Fund conditionality vis a vis the South, and describe the interdisciplinary approaches to discourse analysis taken in the paper. The third section briefly sets out the origins of the International Monetary Fund and provides a background to the Fund's conditionality. Part Two is a detailed account, or historical genealogy, of the way in which the IMF became involved in the business of lending to the South. This account is directed at tracing the transformation of the Fund through what the author considers to be three major developments in the evolution of Fund conditionality. The transformation which the author argues took place was a transformation of the role of the Fund from an institution concerned primarily with managing monetary institutions between industrialised nations to a surveillance organisation directed at providing information about the Third World to the First World. Part Three takes the idea of the contemporary role of the Fund as a surveillance organisation revealed in the preceding section and explores what discursive functions the Fund might be performing in the context of the relationship between North and South. In this regard the author identifies two major themes underlying IMF discourse about the Third World both of which suggest that an underlying sense of danger of the Third World is felt by the First World, and that this sense of danger replicates older fears. The author then examines the discursive practices employed to address these fears and the extent to which they too resonate with older discursive strategies. The author then considers why the reoccurrence of these older discursive technologies might be problematic. Part Four provides some closing comments about the insights gained from the preceding analysis. In doing so, it offers a tentative suggestion for how we might productively disrupt the colonial continuum of which the discursive practices described above seem to form part. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

Introduction The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international financial institution that acts as a lender of the last resort for countries experiencing balance of payments problems. Its loans to national authorities come with conditions, which typically include tighter control of public spending, though the nature and extent of conditions as well as the emphasis on social protection may vary according to the type of lending agreement. A subject of intense debate has been the effects of these loans on the capacity of health systems to meet health need. This study investigates the effects of IMF agreements on one crucial determinant of that capacity: government health expenditure (GHE). To do so, it evaluates: (i) the effects of IMF agreements on GHE across low- and middle-income countries; (ii) how these effects vary across different country income groups; and (iii) how these effects vary according to the type of agreement. Methods The study employs a dataset that includes GHE for 127 countries for the years 1995-2012, estimates the effects of IMF agreements using the Fixed Effects estimator, controls for determinants of GHE and accounts for endogeneity using a Heckman-style selection model. Results When controlling for endogeneity and important determinants of government health expenditure, the results suggest that, across all countries, agreements do not have a statistically significant effect on GHE. However, the effect differs according to country income group, with low-income countries experiencing increases in spending during agreement, lower-middle income countries seeing decreases in expenditure, for upper-middle income countries no effect on spending are observed. In addition, the effect differs according to agreement type: agreements with a social protection component are associated with increases in spending in low-income countries but have no statistically significant effects among middle-income countries. Agreement types with no social protection component are associated with decreases in spending among lower-middle income countries; and there is no statistically significant effect among low-income and upper-middle income countries. Conclusions The results indicate that, contrary to claims in the existing literature, IMF agreements do not have a statistically significant effect on GHE (positive or negative). However, this aggregate finding obscures the effect of particular agreement types in particular contexts. In low-income countries, agreements with an emphasis on social protection are associated with increases in GHE. When agreements have no social protection component they are associated with decreases in GHE for lower-middle-income countries, but not in other countries. In such contexts, IMF agreements either fail to enhance, or actually reduce, the capacity of health systems to meet health need.

This dissertation aims to problematize the concept (and proposed policy) of "debt sustainability", particularly in relation to those countries classified as "low-income", by attempting to map the logic behind what is presented as neutral, technical fact (i.e., "best practice") and seeing what work this logic does, i.e., what its effects are. Debt sustainability is not a free-floating concept, but one that is operationalized in policy. This means that the outcomes of employing a debt sustainability framework for low-income countries may have tangible consequences; in this way, and most importantly, debt sustainability may also have consequences regarding prospects for debt reliefand for the way countries and organizations make lending and borrowing decisions. The way the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conceptualizes and presents indebtedness, poverty, governance, and (sustainable) "development" dialectically reproduces a discourse around debt that both limits (depoliticizes) and opens possibilities for debt cancellation and fundamental change fundamental change in the IMF's role and function, in the Fund's relations with countries of the global south, and in the budgetary and other constraints those countries face in processes of "indebtedness" and "development". / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

Zugl.: Ilmenau, Techn. University, Diss., 2005.

Since the international debt crisis arose in 1982, various forms of debt relief measures have been applied by international creditors to alleviate the difficulties encountered by most developing countries in meeting their financial obligations. Renegotiation of external debts within the framework of official and private creditor clubs, however, has become the widely acceptable procedure in recent years. A sine qua non to this process is the entry by a debtor state into a stand-by arrangement with the International Monetary Fund. Compliance with the terms of the stand-by arrangement is closely linked, either in a formal or informal manner, to the enforcement of bilateral loan rescheduling agreements with creditor governments and syndicated loan agreements with private commercial banks. The crux of IMF financing is a commitment by a debtor state to implement economic policies aimed at improving the latter1s balance of payments position. However, the impact of these economic austerity measures upon the political stability of the debtor's government and the living standards of its citizens has generated an attitude of reluctance among the leaders of several developing countries to consult the IMF in accordance with current renegotiation procedures. In this thesis, the writer will examine the salient legal and political issues arising from the practice of international creditors in using compliance with the terms of the IMF stand-by arrangement as a parallel condition under their loan agreements with a debtor state. Three main arguments have been considered by this writer in shedding light upon this study. Firstly, the assumption that compliance with the terms of the IMF stand-by arrangement constitutes an international obligation is not in accord with the law and practice of the IMF. Any inference of breach entailing state responsibility, therefore, is unwarranted on account of the characterization of the IMF stand-by arrangement as a non-binding instrument. Secondly, a debtor state experiencing extreme economic hardship may be justified under international law to take unilateral action having the effect of deviating from the stand-by arrangement provisions. It will be argued in particular that the principle of "freedom for payments" embodied in stand-by arrangements is subject to an exception applying the rule of a state of necessity under international law. Finally, it will be argued that the political sustainability of economic adjustment for debtor states through the stand-by arrangements could be enhanced by incorporating human rights principles as a juridical standard for adjustment policies formulated in consultation with the IMF. / Law, Peter A. Allard School of / Graduate

No description available.

This thesis attempts to resolve the deadlock to achieve an equitable division of taxes, and thereby internation equity. As the present tax laws were not negotiated, it is not considered here as fair. In this thesis it is proposed that an equitable division could be achieved through a division based on the levels of human development (combining Rawlsian schema and Sen’s capability approach). Therefore, it is argued that such a division would be equitable; because it would be based on entitlements (territorial claims), it would generate cooperation and thereby lead to greater efficiency. Importantly, this thesis establishes that the present tax treaties neither generate cooperation nor cohere with global welfare. Similarly, it is also found that the other institutions (OECD, IMF, WB and Dispute Settlement) related the tax regime presently do not promote development based on human capabilities. This could help developing countries to pursue a division favouring development (laws favouring development) and understand the institutions better suited to pursue such goals.