Can the Bretton Woods institutions adapt?
(macroeconomic policy-setting by the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and related institutions) The call for high-level global discussions became urgent in the fall of 2008 in the face of massive losses on financial markets and bank balance sheets, but serious discussion of the need to reform the Bretton Woods organizations had been gathering momentum for some time. In April 2008, the IMF Board of Governors responded to growing calls for change by adopting reforms to the institution’s governance structures. Senior IMF officials described the changes to the IMF quota system as “far-reaching,” but the agreement that was reached provides for a meagre 2.7 per cent switch in voting power from developed to developing countries. The reforms were adopted with a view to rebuilding the IMF’s credibility and legitimacy. In recent years, emerging economies had turned away from the IMF, accessing private capital sources. With fewer loans on the books, IMF income had plummeted, leaving the in
