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EXPLORING 21st CENTURY SKILLS and ISSUES
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Side Trips to the IMF and World Bank As WWII came to a close, representatives of 45 countries met in a tiny New Hampshire town called Bretton Woods . Their goal was to come up with a financial plan for reconstruction of the world economy, which had been decimated by WWII. Their goal was to design a plan that avoided the errors which followed WWI reconstruction, and contributed to the Great Depression. A key part of the plan was to provide ways for developing nations to participate in the world economy. The result was the creation of the The International Monetary Fund (“IMF”) and the World Bank . Today the IMF and the World Bank are hugely influential organizations fostering global commerce and economic development, and promoting financial stability around the world. These organizations are frequently mentioned in the news. To be a financially literate person, you should know about them. Your job: Go to www.imf.org to answer questions 1-5; then go to www.worldbank.org to answer questions 6-10. 1. What are the five key IMF activities? (On the menu bar go to About the IMF ; click Overview ; select What we do .) _ __________________________________________________________________________ _ __________________________________________________________________________ _ __________________________________________________________________________ _ __________________________________________________________________________ _ __________________________________________________________________________ _ __________________________________________________________________________ 2. How many countries are members of the IMF? ____________ 3. The IMF uses three main tools to accomplish its objectives: surveillance , technical assistance and training , and lending . Describe each. (On the menu bar go to About the IMF ; click Overview ; select How we do it .) Surveillance: _ ________________________________________________________________ _ __________________________________________________________________________ _ __________________________________________________________________________ Technical assistance and training: __________________________________________________ _ __________________________________________________________________________ _ __________________________________________________________________________ Lending: _ ___________________________________________________________________ _ __________________________________________________________________________ Provide policy advice to governments and central banks on economic trends and cross-country experiences; research , statistics, forecasts, and analysis on global , regional , and individual economies and markets; make loans to help countries overcome economic difficulties and loans to help fight poverty in developing countries; technical assistance and training to help countries improve management of their economies. The IMF monitors global , regional , and national economic developments. It seeks to assess the impact of the policies of individual countries on other economies. IMF financing provides member countries the loans if they need them. Technical assistance is offered in several areas, including fiscal policy, monetary and exchange rate policies, banking and financial system supervision and regulation , and statistics. 188 I N T E R N A T I O N A L M O N E T A R Y F PRODUCT PREVIEW
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Lesson 16 | Bulls and Bears and Boats, Oh My! 310
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