The 2014 review of surveillance comes at a critical juncture for the Fund and its member countries. Policymakers are navigating a brittle, uneven recovery that is still marred by the lingering effects of the crisis. They are also continuing to adapt to the challenges of a highly interconnected world, shielding their economies from potential negative spillovers while also striving to harness the benefits of globalization. It is imperative that Fund surveillance is positioned to help our members best chart this course. This paper presents specific proposals in the priority areas agreed in the 2014 Triennial Surveillance Review (TSR). These actions will help ensure that surveillance meets the current and future needs of the membership, and the wider global economic community.

NULL

The Managing Director’s Global Policy Agenda (GPA) presented to the IMFC in October identified a range of actions needed to prevent growth from settling into a “new mediocre” with unacceptably low job creation and inclusion. These actions included managing eventual monetary normalization in advanced economies and its effects on other economies, growth-friendly fiscal policies to enhance the quality of public expenditure and reduce distortions in revenue collection, policies to safeguard financial stability while strengthening credit transmission, structural reforms to buttress productivity and strengthen growth, and increasing investment in infrastructure. The GPA also outlined how the Fund would support the membership through assessments and policy advice provided in the context of multilateral and bilateral surveillance, capacity building, and financial support.

NULL

Evenhandedness of the Fund’s analysis and advice is critical to the effectiveness of its engagement with member countries. In this regard, both actual and perceived lack of evenhandedness can be detrimental to the Fund’s credibility and legitimacy. While perceptions of evenhandedness often reflect views about the full range of Fund activities, Fund surveillance is an important contributor to perceptions. Moreover, the consistency of the Fund’s analysis and advice will likely be scrutinized more closely in an interconnected world.

NULL

This Work Program (WP) translates the policy priorities and strategic directions laid out in the Spring 2017 Global Policy Agenda (GPA) and the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) Communiqué into an Executive Board agenda for the next twelve months. The Managing Director’s GPA, welcomed by the IMFC, called on members to continue using supportive policies based on a three-pronged approach to sustain the recovery, to work together within the multilateral framework toward strong and more balanced growth, and to provide economic opportunities for all. It outlined how the Fund would support the membership by promoting efforts to sustain the recovery, lift productivity and increase resilience, and by promoting sustainable policies toward a more inclusive global economy, while facilitating multilateral solutions to global challenges. Where the work extends beyond traditional areas, the WP will focus on macro-relevant issues that are systemically important or relevant for many countries and amenable to change through economic policies.