The International Monetary Fund

The International Monetary Fund is an international organization which involves 184 member countries, and it is located in Washington D.C. It was established in 1945 in order to promote international monetary cooperation, exchange stability, and orderly exchange arrangements. It also fosters economic growth and high level of employment. Another propose of the IMF is to provide temporary financial assistance to countries to help ease the balance of payments adjustment. Since the IMF has been established, its purposes haven't been changed, but its operations such as surveillance, financial assistance, and technical assistance, have been developed in order to meet the needs of the countries that are members of the IMF, and that are in an evolving world economy.

The IMF is accountable to its member countries, which is very important for its effectiveness. The Board of Governors is the highest decision making body of the IMF. It consists of one governor and one alternative governor for each member country. The Board of Governors may delegate to the Executive Board all except certain reserved powers. The Executive board (the Board) is responsible for the daily operations of the IMF.

Most of the IMF recourses come from the quota (or capital) subscriptions that the countries members pay when they join it or from some of the periodic reviews in which the quota have been increased. The IMF provides technical assistance, and financial support to low- income countries such as Argentina, Angola, Bulgaria, Nigeria and many other underdeveloped countries. The Managing Director is Head of the IMF staff and Chairman of the Executive Board and is assisted by three Deputy Managing Directors.

Although the purposes of the IMF haven't been changed since its establishment at the end of The World War II, its operations such as surveillance, financial assistance, and technical assistance have changed and improved to help the country members.

The objectives of surveillance remain the same today as in 1977, when the IMF recognized that the IMF's appraisal of exchange policy requires a comprehensive analysis of the general economic situation that changes all the time, and policy strategy of each member country. The decision also says that the ultimate objective of surveillance is to help member countries achieve financial stability and economic growth. The framework of surveillance has developed significantly in order to promote