Inside the IMF’s Ideology

Lots of questions and only one answer: Let the government fix it

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde speaks during the IMF/World Bank 2017 Annual Meetings at IMF headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 13. Stephen Jaffe/IMF via Getty Images

Like central banks, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is puzzling to many. Those on the left typically see it as a symbol of unbridled crony capitalism, and those on the right think it’s a bunch of bureaucrat central planners trying to take over the world. Both may be correct.

Observing the fund’s annual meetings this October, however, the bureaucrat central planning aspect is stronger, at least in the fund’s public communication and research.