Jeffrey Timmermans Global Economic Journalism Class 10: Global Economic Policy

Supranational economic organizations ✤ Global ✤ World Bank ✤ International Monetary Fund ✤ Regional ✤ Asian Development Bank ✤ European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

The Bretton Woods System ✤ Established in 1944 by the (soon-to-be) victorious powers in World War II ✤ Result of agreement drafted at conference in Bretton Woods, N.H. ✤ Designed to rebuild the global economic framework for trade destroyed by the war

Main Bretton Woods bodies ✤ World Bank ✤ International Bank for Reconstruction & Development (IBRD) ✤ International Development Association (IDA) ✤ International Finance Corporation (IFC) ✤ International Monetary Fund (IMF)

IBRD ✤ Original form of World Bank: initial goal was to fund post-war reconstruction ✤ World Bank’s “hard window” ✤ Borrows cheaply on global capital markets thanks to AAA rating ✤ Lends at market rates to creditworthy nations at 15- to 20-year maturities Sources: World Bank; Writing About Business (2nd ed.)

IDA ✤ Founded in 1960 ✤ The World Bank’s “soft window” ✤ Funded by contributions from more affluent IMF members ✤ Lends to poorest countries at very low interest, for maturities of 35 to 40 years with 10-year grace period Sources: World Bank; Writing About Business (2nd ed.)

IFC ✤ Founded in 1956 ✤ The World Bank’s private-sector arm ✤ Intended to help fund, and spur outside investment in, private infrastructure projects/businesses in developing countries Sources: World Bank; Writing About Business (2nd ed.)

IMF ✤ Initially charged with overseeing the global monetary system and ensuring exchange-rate stability ✤ Now the “chief overseer” of the global financial system ✤ Lender of last resort for countries Source: IMF

Special drawing rights ✤ The form in which countries keep their reserves with the IMF ✤ Created in 1969 to preserve Bretton Woods System amid shortage of reserve assets (dollars & gold) ✤ Initially exchangeable into a fixed amount of gold, now exchangeable into a basket of major currencies at a floating rate

An evolving system... ✤ Under Bretton Woods, the U.S. dollar was pegged to gold and other currencies were pegged to the dollar ✤ But other countries could adjust the peg level ✤ In effect, the dollar became the world’s reserve currency ✤ But a shortage of gold in the U.S. spurred Nixon to abandon the dollar’s peg to gold in 1973 and the fixed exchange-rate system collapsed ✤ Now, the market sets prices of currencies instead of governments

An outdated system... ✤ Staffing issues ✤ World Bank headed by an American ✤ IMF headed by a European ✤ Policy issues ✤ Economic orthodoxy ✤ Summits are mostly ceremony: the news happens on the sidelines

...with some advantages for journalists ✤ Summits great for sourcing ✤ Not just senior people, but the staff who do the real work ✤ Experts with deep subject knowledge, especially about emerging markets ✤ Trove of data online

Covering supranationals ✤ Annual reports (September) ✤ Other reports/rankings (World Development Report) ✤ Staff changes ✤ Senior appointments often dictated by historical conventions

Covering summits ✤ Plan ahead! ✤ Create coverage plan ✤ Create facebook of officials with photos, names, contact details ✤ Plan to doorstep key officials ✤ Keep after sources to get advance draft of any final statement ✤ Grab officials in hallways/restaurants/bathrooms for on-the-sidelines impromptu interviews