Below, but first my take on this:
I think the IMF was way, meaning 5 years, behind the ball on this one. An idiot would have known in 2002 of a bubble situation. That idiot was me and I wrote about it at the time in blogs. In addition, when I told my seniors about the impending Asian Crisis of 1997, they had six months to put some actions or at least warnings and writing in place, but did nothing!
IMF members, such as Canada, really don't understand the crucial role that SDR-like valuations of currencies can play in exchange rate adjustment and in providing an early warning system. Would that Europe had the sense to create an artificial SDR like currency unit?
Occasionally, the tiny butterfly really does produce hurricane-like conditions, but don't let me go on, that's non-linear forecasting.
RT
WASHINGTON—A senior International Monetary Fund economist has resigned and written a scathing letter to the board blaming management for suppressing staff warnings about the 2008 global financial crisis and for an alleged pro-European bias that he says exacerbated the euro-zone's debt turmoil.
"The failure of the fund to issue them [warnings] is a failing of the first order, even if such warnings may not have been heeded," Peter Doyle said in a letter dated June 18 and copied to senior management.
"The consequences include suffering (and risk of worse to come) for many, including Greece," he said. He added that "the Fund for the past two years has been playing catch-up and reactive roles in the last-ditch efforts to save" the euro.
Mr. Doyle, a U.K. national, is a former division chief in the IMF's European Department who was responsible for non-crisis countries. He shifted earlier this year to a position as an adviser to the IMF. His resignation is expected to take effect in the fall.
Mr. Doyle's job change occurred around the same time a new European Department chief was appointed. A senior IMF official said the new chief restructured the department, replacing many of its staff.
"After twenty years of service, I am ashamed to have had any association with the Fund at all," Mr. Doyle said in the letter, which was earlier reported by CNN. Mr. Doyle wasn't available to comment further.
IMF spokesman Bill Murray said some of the substance of Mr. Doyle's remarks "are well documented in the public record," including in reports by the IMF's Independent Evaluation Office and comments by Christine Lagarde, who became managing director a year ago. The auditor said last year the IMF failed to act as the world's watchdog ahead of the global financial crisis. In one report, the office said IMF staff often felt pressure to align conclusions with the views of IMF management.
The IMF, which is supposed to make independent assessments of the global economy, is owned by its 188 member nations.
Much of the criticism in the letter tracks the views of many outside economists and some IMF member countries.
The IMF has faced increasing complaints for extending a big bailout package to Greece despite the country's persistent failures to meet the terms of its rescue agreements. Some economists believe the IMF should have urged a restructuring of Greek debt much earlier, but acquiesced in the face of strong opposition with Europe's political leaders.
If Greek debt had been restructured at an earlier stage, those economists say, Europe might have been able to stem its crisis. More broadly, many economists say the IMF hasn't been as tough on European aid recipients—in both the policy prescriptions in the bailout agreements and in the IMF's willingness to withhold funds when the terms weren't met—as it has with emerging-markets countries in Asia and Latin America.
The IMF's leaders and staff economists have ramped up warnings about the euro zone over the past year, but have often failed to push European policy makers into quick action.
Write to Ian Talley at ian.talley@dowjones.com
"The failure of the fund to issue them [warnings] is a failing of the first order, even if such warnings may not have been heeded," Peter Doyle said in a letter dated June 18 and copied to senior management.
"The consequences include suffering (and risk of worse to come) for many, including Greece," he said. He added that "the Fund for the past two years has been playing catch-up and reactive roles in the last-ditch efforts to save" the euro.
Mr. Doyle, a U.K. national, is a former division chief in the IMF's European Department who was responsible for non-crisis countries. He shifted earlier this year to a position as an adviser to the IMF. His resignation is expected to take effect in the fall.
Mr. Doyle's job change occurred around the same time a new European Department chief was appointed. A senior IMF official said the new chief restructured the department, replacing many of its staff.
"After twenty years of service, I am ashamed to have had any association with the Fund at all," Mr. Doyle said in the letter, which was earlier reported by CNN. Mr. Doyle wasn't available to comment further.
IMF spokesman Bill Murray said some of the substance of Mr. Doyle's remarks "are well documented in the public record," including in reports by the IMF's Independent Evaluation Office and comments by Christine Lagarde, who became managing director a year ago. The auditor said last year the IMF failed to act as the world's watchdog ahead of the global financial crisis. In one report, the office said IMF staff often felt pressure to align conclusions with the views of IMF management.
The IMF, which is supposed to make independent assessments of the global economy, is owned by its 188 member nations.
Much of the criticism in the letter tracks the views of many outside economists and some IMF member countries.
The IMF has faced increasing complaints for extending a big bailout package to Greece despite the country's persistent failures to meet the terms of its rescue agreements. Some economists believe the IMF should have urged a restructuring of Greek debt much earlier, but acquiesced in the face of strong opposition with Europe's political leaders.
If Greek debt had been restructured at an earlier stage, those economists say, Europe might have been able to stem its crisis. More broadly, many economists say the IMF hasn't been as tough on European aid recipients—in both the policy prescriptions in the bailout agreements and in the IMF's willingness to withhold funds when the terms weren't met—as it has with emerging-markets countries in Asia and Latin America.
The IMF's leaders and staff economists have ramped up warnings about the euro zone over the past year, but have often failed to push European policy makers into quick action.
Write to Ian Talley at ian.talley@dowjones
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