With its near-global membership of 187 countries, the IMF is uniquely placed to help member governments take advantage of the opportunities—and manage the challenges—posed by globalization and economic development more generally. The IMF tracks global economic trends and performance, alerts its member countries when it sees problems on the horizon, provides a forum for policy dialogue, and passes on know-how to governments on how to tackle economic difficulties.
The IMF provides policy advice and financing to members in economic difficulties and also works with developing nations to help them achieve macroeconomic stability and reduce poverty.
Marked by massive movements of capital and abrupt shifts in comparative advantage, globalization affects countries' policy choices in many areas, including labor, trade, and tax policies. Helping a country benefit from globalization while avoiding potential downsides is an important task for the IMF. The global economic crisis has highlighted just how interconnected countries have become in today’s world economy.
Key IMF activities
The IMF supports its membership by providing * policy advice to governments and central banks based on analysis of economic trends and cross-country experiences; * research, statistics, forecasts, and analysis based on tracking of global, regional, and individual economies and markets; * loans to help countries overcome economic difficulties; * concessional loans to help fight poverty in developing countries; and * technical assistance and training to help countries improve the management of their economies.
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IMF and the global financial crisis * Click here to read about our work in crisis countries
Original aims
The IMF was founded more than 60 years ago toward the end of World War II (see History). The founders aimed