Reforming the International Monetary Fund

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Like its sister organization the World Bank, the IMF was created after World War II with the goal of stabilizing the economy of nations in need, and like the World Bank, faced an onslaught of criticism by the dawn of the 21st century. Developing countries were going deeper into debt by following the prescriptions of the IMF, at the expense of their citizens' day-to-day quality of life. In this program Hazel Henderson discusses the ethics of debt restructuring, and whether the only entities who benefit from IMF loans are rich nations and the despotic leaders of the countries who receive aid. Henderson is joined by Kenneth Rogoff, former IMF chief economist, who supports the use of austerity measures and explains what bankruptcy would mean to emerging economies; UN Human Development Report director Sakiko Fukuda-Parr, who feels the IMF's narrow focus ignores social realities; and independent economist John Perkins, who contends that financial policies considered immoral in the private sector are standard practice for the IMF.