An unprecedented policy response and rapid progress in vaccinations have helped pull the global economy from a deep recession, but the outlook is marked by high uncertainty and great divergence. Against this background, the Fund continues its efforts to achieve a durable exit from the crisis, minimize long-term scarring, and build a more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive global economy. In line with the strategic directions laid out in the Spring 2021 Global Policy Agenda and the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) Communiqué, this Work Program puts forward a prioritized Board agenda focused on activities of most critical importance to our members.

"This Work Program (WP) translates the strategic directions and policy priorities laid out in the Fall 2018 Global Policy Agenda and the International Monetary and Financial Committee Communiqué into an Executive Board agenda for the next twelve months. Its main policy priorities and deliverables are as follows: • Advise member countries to rebuild buffers, enhance resilience, and advance structural reforms for the benefit of all to respond to mounting vulnerabilities. The Spring 2019 World Economic Outlook (WEO) will analyze the macroeconomic implications of increased corporate market power. The Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) will discuss global financial risks in light of tightening financial conditions, while the Fiscal Monitor (FM) will study how improved governance in fiscal frameworks and institutions can reduce corruption vulnerabilities and improve policy outcomes. • Promote cooperation to modernize the multilateral trade system and address other challenges that transcend borders. The spillover chapter of the Spring 2019 WEO will examine the determinants of trade imbalances and spillovers from different trade policies. Building on the “Bali Fintech Agenda,"" staff will provide a stock-take of fintech developments and study the implications for cross-border flows, financial integrity, and global monetary and financial stability in Fintech: The Experience So Far. To support Japan’s G-20 Presidency, staff will prepare a note on Macroeconomic and Fiscal Implications of Aging. • Adapt the Fund’s policy toolkits to further enhance its surveillance, lending, and capacity development. Scoping notes for the Surveillance Review and the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) Review will establish priorities. The Review of Conditionality and the Design of Fund Supported Programs will assess the effectiveness of Fund program design and conditionality. Building on an earlier paper, the Review of Facilities for Low-Income Countries-Reform Proposals will offer proposals on adjusting these facilities to better meet evolving membership needs. The Fund will implement a multipronged approach to enhance debt transparency and sustainable financing practices. Staff will also strengthen debt sustainability analysis by reviewing the Debt Sustainability Framework for Market Access Countries and the Fund’s Debt Limits Policy. The Revised IMF Policies and Practices on Capacity Development will reflect on suggestions made in recent discussions. • Improve governance of the Fund and modernize its operations. Work on the 15thGeneral Review of Quotas will continue with a view to completing it by the Spring Meetings, and no later than the Annual Meetings, of 2019. The Board will receive a briefing on Modernizing HR Policies and Practices: A Progress Report on Key Initiatives and continue the discussions on the Comprehensive Compensation and Benefits Review."

The global economy is going through a period of unprecedented financial instability. The Fund has been asked by the IMFC to play a leading role in helping the membership both to deal with the immediate crisis and work towards a new strengthened global architecture. These tasks are well within our mandate. Addressing these challenges—and doing so within a compressed timeframe—will require strict prioritization on three key areas: (i) providing policy advice and timely financial support that meets members’ needs; (ii) understanding what went wrong; (iii) and assembling the building blocks of a new international financial architecture.

The global economy has entered a dangerous new phase with severe downside risks. The Fund has been called by the IMFC to contribute to an orderly resolution of these tensions, and the membership must be prepared for bold action. Our first responsibility is to help develop and coordinate solutions to immediate threats to global stability, in particular to provide insightful analysis and policy advice to address fiscalfinancial vulnerabilities and rekindle growth and job creation. Yet we must also be prepared to fortify the global financial safety net. Secondly, we must redouble efforts to make the international monetary system (IMS) stronger in the longer term—through more effective surveillance and a clearer shared vision of the system’s key underpinnings.

This Work Program puts forward an IMF Board agenda focused on activities of critical importance to our members. In line with the strategic directions laid out in the Fall 2021 Global Policy Agenda and the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) Communiqué, the Work Program supports three policy priorities: (i) vaccinate the world to combat the pandemic everywhere; (ii) calibrate bilateral and multilateral policies to support the recovery and reduce scarring and divergences; and (iii) accelerate the transformation of the global economy to make it greener, more digital, and inclusive. To deliver on this agenda, it is also important to ensure that the Fund remains appropriately equipped to maintain its role at the center of the global financial safety net.

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.

Against the backdrop of a global economic crisis, the IMFC has underscored the Fund’s central role in responding to its membership’s needs and restoring prosperity and financial stability. The Fund has acted with alacrity—by overhauling its lending framework; mobilizing strong support and firm pledges toward a tripling of its resources; and continuing to strengthen the quality of its surveillance. The work program is heavy, reflecting the responsibilities assigned to the Fund by the international community and the needs of our membership.