The IMF’s policy blog on the UK, published this afternoon has three policy recommendations. In many ways the third is the most obscurely worded and the easiest to interpret. They say (and I’ve edited out chunks): Third, slowing the pace of fiscal tightening would be the main policy lever to support demand if growth does not pick up
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The IMF’s policy prescriptions for the UK need unpacking. Their second policy recommendation is not as clear as it could be. They say: Second, credit easing measures can boost demand. Credit easing is the process of the government supporting private sector investment by providing guarantees for loans or by partnering investment. The government’s already announced a programme for credit easing so you could say the IMF has
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I just got the heads up that the IMF is about to publish a media release that suggests the UK government now has a duty to starting expanding the UK economy. In advance they’ve released a blog on the issue. This is what that blog by Ajal Chopra says: ——— The U.K. economy has been
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As Owen Tudor at the TUC has noted: The IMF has issued a working paper which explores the practicalities of implementing Financial Transaction Taxes. His analysis is well worth reading. But as he notes, the IMF concluded: In principle, an FTT is no more difficult and, in some respects easier, to administer than other taxes. As
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As the FT notes: Bad economic news bombarded the Treasury on Monday as new International Monetary Fund forecasts cast doubt on the chancellor’s deficit reduction plan, while near-term indicators suggested the recovery was losing the little momentum it had. The IMF judged that Britain’s economy had less capacity to grow quickly over the next few years
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Cross-posted, with small amendments, from the Treasure Islands blog. A new report from the IMF (hat tip: Markus Henn) tallies surprisingly closely, at least in part, with what TJN members have been saying for some time. Take this, for example, on the role of secrecy jurisdictions (the IMF prefers the term Offshore Financial Centers, or OFCs:) Before
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Hat tip: James

The following comes from the SturdyBlog by Alex Andreou. Alex is not a professional economist any more. He’s now an actor, so no doubt the Tories will seek to dimiss his opinion as “unqualified”. But the simple fact is he can outwit the IMF any day. That’s the reality of the economic opposition now, of which
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As the FT has just reported: The International Monetary Fund badly missed the risks that led to the global financial crisis because of a naive admiration of light-touch US and UK financial regulation and a “groupthink” mentality, according to its watchdog. A sharply critical report from the fund’s independent evaluation office, published on Wednesday, said
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