An introductory guide to the IMF’s technical assistance. Providing technical assistance to member countries-particularly developing countries and countries in transition-is at the core of the IMF’s mission. Technical assistance, which includes training for government and central banks...

The global crisis has underscored the need for effective global financial safety nets to protect countries with sound policy frameworks from adverse outcomes. Complementing the traditional crisis resolution role of the IMF, which has been instrumental during the recent crisis and is expected to...

Market reaction to a change in official interest rates will depend on the extent to which the change is anticipated, and on how it is interpreted as a signal of future policy. In this paper, a technique is developed to separate the anticipated and unanticipated components of such changes and is...

This paper assesses the role of the deutsche mark as a key international currency. It first investigates the theoretical basis underlying the international use of a currency. Theoretical considerations indicate that several factors relating to the issuing country—including inflation...