Faircount, publisher of the highly acclaimed Words into Action series, is proud to announce its flagship delegate publication, authorised by The IMF/World Bank Joint Secretariat for distribution at the 2006 Annual Meetings.

The publication will be a focal point for Singapore 2006, and is expected to stimulate lively debate during the meeting.

Commencing with a foreword from the meeting's host, this glossy, 200 page, A4 publication will contain exclusive interviews with senior IMF and World Bank Officials, Governors of Central Banks, Government Ministers and Captains Industry, plus feature articles by renowned experts in relevant fields of economic and social development.

DRAFT SYNOPSIS:

SECTION 1. / INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL STABILITY AND ANALYSIS OF THE SOURCES OF GLOBAL MACROECONOMIC STRENGTH AND WEAKNESSES

Global Macroeconomic Imbalances: A Role for the IMF?

There is a widely acknowledged problem of global macroeconomic imbalances, with large current account surpluses in some countries contrasted with large deficits in others. While there are various opinions about the likely causes and nature of the seriousness of these imbalances, less has been said about what role the IMF should take, if any, in attempting to correct these balances. Is it an appropriate task for the IMFI and, if so, how can they effect change? This article discusses the probable initial answers to these questions. Regional Financial Cooperation: Learning from Recent Asian Experience A review of the progress on the Chiang Mai initiative, and other mechanisms of Asian monetary cooperation to see what progress has been made to date, and what the constraints are to further progress towards a fully-fledged regional system. We highlight the positive benefits from such cooperation, the role that the IMF may be able to play in facilitating such initiatives, and evaluate the practicality of pursuing similar initiatives in other regions.

Encouraging the Emergence of New Capital Markets

The progress on the establishment of capital markets in lower income countries, Africa in particular, is assessed in this article, as is the World Bank and IMF’s role in facilitating these markets, and policy recommendations about how this work can be strengthened to encourage efficient capital markets are set out, together with case studies and success stories, and the strategies utilised in such cases.

Review of Progress: Are we on the road to meeting the MDG’s?

A comprehensive review to date of the Millennium Development Goals, aggregating recent research on progress in specific countries and on specific issue based areas, in order to see where progress on MDG’s is lacking globally. We highlight the purpose of each of the MDG’s, note where they are most likely to be difficult to implement, and discuss how renewed priorities for donors such as the World Bank may stem from such a review.

SECTION 2. / FOCUS ON ASIA

Asian Success and Challenges and New Relationships with the IFI's

A succinct summary of recent work by the Institute for Development Studies on ‘Asian Drivers’, highlighting key findings, and the political and economic implications of rapid Asian growth in large economies. Additionally, the article will assess what challenges have arisen in maintaining growth for Asia in sectors including energy, environment, and social inclusion. Included is an analysis of how recent Asian growth is changing the region’s relationship with the World Bank and IMF, and opinions as to how this relationship will continue to develop.

SECTION 3. / FOREIGN AID

Enhancing Donor Cooperation and Country Ownership – Progress to Date
A number of recent consensuses and declarations on aid have suggested that two primary goals should be enhancing coherence among donors, and increasing country ownership of aid programmes in order to enhance their effectiveness.  This article explains both the principles and ideas behind these agreements, as well as seeking to review recent evidence on the extent to which these two agendas are being prioritised and accomplished. The potential role of the World Bank and IMF in facilitating these two agendas is central to the feature.

What role for the IMF and World Bank in Aid for Trade?
While the Hong Kong ministerial included a paragraph on increasing Aid for Trade (Paragraph 57 of WT/MIN(05)/Dec), neither the likely structure of this initiative, or the role of the IMF and the World Bank have yet to be defined. We suggest some potential roles for the IMF and World Bank in Aid for Trade, as a complement to ongoing work on making Aid for Trade operational in the WTO’s Aid for Trade ‘Task Force’.  The probable relationships between any new and the existing mechanisms (e.g. IF or TIM) are also examined.

SECTION 4. / GLOBAL GOVERNANCE

Reforming Global Governance: Prioritising Southern Voice
A succinct summary of the large body of work on the potential for reform of the leadership structures of the IMF and World Bank to ensure that the voice of developing countries is more strongly represented.  We also present an analysis of the options, based not only on their potential benefit for equitable representation, but also on their political viability, and in light of recent discussions of redistribution of quota votes.