JOURNAL OF HETERODOX ECONOMICS IMF Lending and Poverty in Developing Countries Eleftherios Makedonas1 Sotirios Bellos2 Subasat Turan3 DOI 10.1515/jheec‐2015‐0015 Abstract: An arduous debate has developed around the question of whether the multiple IMF’s ‘stabilization’ interventions in developing countries have actually met one of the most important of its initial programmatic goals, i.e., the provision of resources to members, with a view to eliminating temporary Balance of Payments maladjustments, avoiding at the same time destroying ‘national or international prosperity’. More importantly, there have been many voices claiming that these programs have rather accentuated poverty than alleviated it. We explore this claim both theoretically and empirically. Our results show an unequivocal negative relationship between IMF lending and poverty in the developing world. Keywords: IMF, Monetarism, poverty, Human Development Index, Infant Mortality Rate. JEL Classification: E51, E630, O190. 1 University of Macedonia, e‐mail:
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[email protected] Year 2015, Volume 2, Issue 2 Page:113 www.jheec.com Eleftherios Makedonas, Sotirios Bellos, Subasat Turan – IMF Lending and Poverty in Developing Countries 1. Introduction The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was established in 1944 as a mechanism for ensuring exchange rate stability. According to its Article of Agreement, IMF’s initial objectives were to facilitate the expansion and balanced growth of international trade, to promote exchange rate stability among its members, and to make its resources temporarily available to them, under adequate safeguards, so that they correct existing maladjustments in their balance of payments.