International Monetary Fund

84 percent of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) COVID-19 loans encourage, and in some cases require, poor countries hard hit by the economic fallout from the pandemic to adopt more tough austerity measures in the aftermath of the health crisis, warned Oxfam today.

This paper takes a closer look at the gendered impact of conventional macroeconomic policies supported by the International Monetary Fund in its loan programmes for Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia since 2012.

With the World Bank and International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings wrapping up, Nadia Daar, the head of Oxfam International’s Washington office commented on the week’s events, including developments on inequality, climate change, and tax policy. 

Oxfam's Nadia Daar commented on the Bank and the IMF's progress on climate change, inequality, education, and more.

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund cannot allow political and economic shocks to hijack their ambitions to combat climate change and curb inequality, warned Oxfam.

Oxfam's verdict on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings. 

This global tax platform represents a step in a long road towards building a fairer and more transparent global tax system. The platform must be able to deliver tangible results and combat inequality, but most importantly, it must give the poorest countries a voice.

At the close of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund’s Spring Meetings in Washington, Chris Stalker, Acting Head of Oxfam International’s Washington office, commented on the week's developments.

“Today’s so-called ‘hammer blow’ against tax cheats misses. If the proposed registry of beneficial owners of companies and trusts is hidden from the public, how can we know who is hiding their profits and fortunes and trying to avoid paying their fair share?" said Susana Ruiz, Oxfam's tax policy expert.

“It’s great to hear tough talk from both Jim Kim and Christine Lagarde on ending tax havens. We’ve seen this happen time and time again: when the richest fail to pay their fair share, the budgets for education, health, and other social services that the poorest depend on, are the first to get slashed," said Chris Stalker, acting head of Oxfam International's Washington office.