Stiglitz’s main criticism was that the IMF proposes a rigid set of policies that it tries to “impose”.
BRAMPTON, CANADA: I read Globalisation and its Discontent by Jo Stiglitz around five years ago, in which he was quite critical of the IMF policies for the developing world. Stiglitz’s main criticism was that the IMF proposes a rigid set of policies that it tries to “impose”. Nevertheless, I tried to understand the IMF’s post-2008 policy behaviour (with Pakistan) in light of Stiglitz’s criticism and came to the conclusion that the organisation’s policy responses and suggestions have been more flexible this time around.
On monetary tightening, I think it was the best our policymakers could do. This policy prescription was not just “IMF-imposed”. I was part of a team that produced a report that was published by the Social Policy and Development Centre back in 2005. We observed that the economy had started overheating and because of this, the tight monetary policy should continue.
Haider Hussain
Published in The Express Tribune, September 13th, 2012.
