There are many challenges facing the economies of developing countries. Capital volatility, financial crises, aid, debt and the IMF are all issues that have received a great deal of attention over recent years. In International Finance and the Developing Economies, Graham Bird provides an essentially non-technical discussion of these issues, examining the underlying political economy and discussing the policy alternatives that are available.

As the linchpin of the global financial system, the International Monetary Fund provides the balance of payments support, chiefly to developing countries, conditional on strict remedial policy measures.
Its approach to policy remains highly controversial, however. While the Fund claims it has adapted, critics allege its policies are harshly doctrinaire, imposing hardships on already poverty-stricken people. For the critics, the half century of its existence is fifty years too long' and radical change is essential.
This book examines the arguments, tracing the extent of Fund adaption,...

In this book the author investigates the relationship between the international monetary system and the less developed countries of the world. In the period since 1945 growing concern has been shown over the international monetary problems which LDCs face, and since 1971 LDCs have been significant participants in the reform of the international monetary system. After tracing the evolution of the relationship between LDCs and the International Monetary Fund, the book goes on to examine, with full reference to the available empirical evidence, the major causes and consequences of LDCs'...