Short-term capital flows are once again increasing in developing countries, as the world economy recovers. In February, IMF economists published a paper which concluded that under certain conditions, the use of capital controls “is justified as part of the policy toolkit to manage inflows.” In the past, short-term and speculative capital inflows have made it more difficult for governments to manage their most important macroeconomic policies, including monetary and exchange rate policies; and rapid outflows have contributed greatly to economic and financial crises in many countries. Video and audio from the event are available here.

Reza Baqir — deputy chief in the IMF’s Strategy, Policy, and Review Department, which has responsibility for consistency in IMF policy advice across countries (including on capital controls issues) — and Mark Weisbrot, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, participated in a discussion of these issues and implications for IMF policies.

Panel Discussion
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Question and Answer
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Audio
Panel Discussion
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Question and Answer
{mp3remote}http://www.archive.org/download/ImfAndCapitalControlsqa/ImfCapControlsQa.mp3{/mp3remote}