Questions of international debt, world economic growth rates, and demands by the Third World nations for a "new international economic order" have thrust two relatively unknown international institutions, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, into public prominence. Controversy over the IMF--which helps debtor countries balance current accounts and meet debt payments--enters on the "conditions" that the lending institution places on receiving nations. Basically, debtor countries are required to put their economic house in order, usually by decreasing imports, increasing exports, and eliminating subsidies on food, gasoline, and other goods. Often, it is such subsidies that allow a government to maintain political support and control. Thus, meeting the requirements of the IMF can lead to domestic instability, as the riots in the Dominican Republic illustrated. Critics of the IMF often agree with the economic medicine but decry the side effects of the cure. Is enough attention being paid to the diversity of the debt-troubled nations? Is there a separate set of standards for the borrowers and the lenders in the IMF decision-making process? Is the IMF lending process fair? What are the often unintended effects of the IMF on foreign policy?

This note provides an overview of recent studies that have begun to investigate how differing moral perspectives shape attitudes toward tax and spending policies. Recent advances in evolutionary moral psychology and their application to survey-based economic analysis yield promising insights. Understanding the moral underpinnings of various groups’ views may help policymakers design and make the case for measures that can muster broader support.

Rational exercise of our responsibility requires us to relate the globalization process to the ends and purposes that properly befit human life and human community. Economic 'ends' are merely the 'means' to ends of a higher order, which can only be specified in terms of moral duty and ethical purpose. The contributors to this book explore political-ethical issues of globalization, including terrorism, institutional change and distribution in the world economy, the role of the United Nations and international financial institutions, the regimes of international trade and technology transfer, the effects of regionalism in the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the failure of Russia, human rights enforcement in Africa, and the prospects for global governance. This book was originally published as Volume 4 no. 3-4 (2005) of Brill's journal Perspectives on Global Development and Technology.

There is no shortage of opinion about the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Some see it as the agent of austerity, being manipulated by wealthy nations and forcing poorer countries to pursue economic policies that suppress growth and development. A sharply contrasting view regards it as bailing out such countries with large amounts of soft finance, allowing them to avoid necessary adjustment. The challenge is to evaluate the alternative arguments and to distinguish reality from rhetoric. In this book, the authors undertake a careful and detailed empirical analysis of the underlying issues, covering participation in IMF programs, their implementation and effects on economic growth, and on the willingness of international capital markets to lend. Blending research methodologies and crossing conventional disciplinary boundaries, what emerges is a balanced and nuanced assessment of the IMF’s operations that confronts many commonly held views. Unique in its broad scope, this careful examination of the IMF will be of great interest to students and academics in the fields of international economics and international relations. Those involved in international financial institutions and national monetary institutions will also find it to be an impartial and illuminating study.