Figure 13: Key events in the IMF’s history July 1944 Bretton Woods Conference sets basis of post-war monetary system. World currencies tied to the US dollar, which is linked to gold at $35 per ounce, thus forming a Gold Exchange Standard.
1940 December 1945 International Monetary Fund established to harmonise its members’ monetary policies, maintain exchange stability and provide temporary financial assistance to countries encountering balance of payments difficulties.
May 1968 First Amendment to IMF articles agreed. A new reserve asset, the Special Drawing Right (SDR) created and given the value of 0.888571g of fine gold.
August 1971 The United States terminates the convertibility of the dollar to gold, officially ending the Bretton Woods system. Many fixed currencies become free floating. SDRs assume a far less important role.
April 1978 Second Amendment to IMF Articles of Agreement. Gold no longer has a formal role in the global monetary system.
Late 1970s/early 1980s The oil shock and debt crisis forces many developing countries to borrow from the IMF. Structural Adjustment Programmes lead to massive job losses and devastating austerity measures.
September 1999 The discredited Structural Adjustment Programmes replaced with the ‘Poverty Reduction Strategy Initiative’. Criticised by civil society as ‘old wine in new bottles’.
April 2009 At G-20 Summit, world leaders call for first allocation of SDRs in 28 years in a bid to inject liquidity into global economy. $250bn of SDRs allocated within five months. September 2009 IMF approves sale of 1/8 of its total holdings of gold, approx. 403 metric tons, generating $2.8bn in excess windfall profit. Campaigners advocate for money to be used to fund debt relief and provide condition-free development grants. September 2009 World leaders agree to treble IMF’s resources to $750bn at G-20 Summit in Pittsburgh.
June 2010 At the UN Conference on the World Financial and Economic Crisis, the G77-plus-China group of developing countries unite behind a call for a significant expansion of SDR allocations to meet development financing gaps.
October 2010 G-20 finance ministers agree to reform IMF governance and shift about 6% of voting shares to major developing nations.
February 2012 $1.1bn of windfall gold sale profits released for concessional loans to low-income countries.
March 2012 Current market value of IMF gold estimated at over $160bn.
2012
Learn more and get involved Alternatives to Economic Globalization: An invaluable civil society resource on the need for new international structures, published by the International Forum on Globalisation in 2004. Bretton Woods Project: A UK-based organisation focusing on the World Bank and IMF to challenge their power, open policy space, and promote alternative approaches. <www.brettonwoodsproject.org>
Redistributing IMF resources
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