[stop-imf] More on Stiglitz against IMF

[Robert Weissman]

From: Doug Henwood <dhenwood@panix.com>


[It's a blow to one's narcissism not to be named, but hey, all for  the
struggle!]

Financial Times - August 21, 2002

Avenue of the Americas
Starting over

It could safely be said that relations between the International
Monetary Fund and Joseph Stiglitz, former chief economist of its
sister institution the World Bank, aren't all sweetness and light.

Stiglitz, one of the IMF's harshest critics for years, was recently  the
subject of a diatribe by Kenneth Rogoff, IMF chief economist,  over his
persistent attacks on the fund.

Far from being convinced of the error of his ways, however, it seems
that Stiglitz, 2001 Nobel prize-winner for economics, now thinks the
world would be better off by starting all over again.

"I used to say that since we are going to need these institutions it  is
better to reform them than to start from scratch. I'm beginning to  have
second thoughts," he said during a recent interview on radio  station
WBAI, New York.

In remarks not calculated to soothe ruffled feathers on 19th St in
Washington, the indefatigable Stiglitz continued: "I'm beginning to  ask
'has the credibility of the IMF been so eroded that maybe it's  better to
start from scratch? Is the institution so resistant to
learning to change, to becoming a more democratic institution, that
maybe it is time to think about creating some new institutions that
really reflect today's reality, today's greater sense of democracy' .  .
.. it is really time to re-ask the question: 'should we reform or  should
we build from start?'"

In the exceedingly improbable eventuality that the international
community hands Stiglitz the task of rebuilding the IMF from the
bottom up, it can safely be assumed that one notable difference will  be
the absence of his bete noire Rogoff from the chief economist's  seat.