Introduction Introduction  International Monetary Fund - an international organization that promotes the stabilization of the world's currencies and maintains a monetary pool from which member nations can draw in order to correct a deficit in their balance of payments: a specialized agency of the United Nations.  The International Monetary Fund is also known as I.M.F  The International Monetary Fund was created July, 1944, during United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference.  I.M.F was organized December 27, 1945, when the first 29 countries signed it’s Articles of Agreements.  It began operations March 1,  Later France became the 1 st country to borrow from the I.M.F

Par Value System  Since the Collapse of the Bretton Woods system. IMF members have been free to choose any form of exchange arrangement they wish ( except changing their currencies to gold).  This allowed the Currency to float freely.  pegging it to another currency or a basket of currencies, adopting the currency of another country, or participating in a currency bloc, were all allowed.  The membership in the I.M.F began to expand in the late 1950s and during the 1960s.  Many African countries became independent and applied for membership.  The cold war limited the fund’s membership.  In the early 1960s, the U.S. dollar’s fixed value against gold, under the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchanged rates, was seen as overruled.  War worsened the overvaluation of the dollar.  In August 1971, President Richard Nixon announced the “ temporary” suspension of the dollar’s convertibility into gold.  Throughout most of the 1960’s the dollar’s struggle marked the breakdown of the system.

 any country may apply for the IMF.  the application will be considered first by the IMF’s Executive Board.  After the Board of Governors has adopted the “Membership Resolution,” the applicant need to take legal steps under it’s own law to enable it to sign the IMF’s Article of Agreement.  Any membership can withdraw.  A membership’s quota in the IMF determines the amount of it’s subscription, it’s voting weight, it’s access to IMF financing, and it’s allocation of Special Drawing Rights.  A member state cannot unilaterally increase it’s quota- increases may be improved by the Executive Board.

IMF member country Quota: million of SDRs % of Total GovernorAlternate Governor Votes: Number Votes: % of total Australia Wayne Swan Ken Henry Belgium Jezreel Pattagua n Jean- Pierre Arnoldi Brazil Guido Matega Henriqu e de Campos Meirelles Canada Jim Falherty David A. Dodge China Zhou Xiaochu an France

PICTURE TIME!!!!! PICTURE TIME!!!!! IMF Headquarters : Located in Washington D.C.

MORE PICTURES!!!!!!! MORE PICTURES!!!!!!! Members of the IMF Growth in IMF Membership, (number of countries)

  The IMF’s support of military dictatorship was in association with the World Bank.  because of the support to military dictatorships friendly to American and European corporations.  Critics are also saying that democracies have fallen after receiving IMF loans.  these views of the IMF are widespread amongst the groups of anti-globalization movement.

 Today because of the sudden rise of gold prices, and to shore up the failing value of the U.S. dollar, the IMF’s Executive board approved a plan that leads to a sale of over 400 tons of it’s gold supplies.  this decision was welcomed on April 7, 2008 to set a new framework for the fund.  This was designed to close an expected $400 million budget over the next few years.  this budget proposal includes spending cuts of $100 million until 2011 that will include up to 380 staff dismissals.

 Well just to break it down the main reason for the International Monetary Fund is to make the exchange and currencies of money flow easier.