Former IMF director outlines the organization's priorities

By Blaine P. Friedlander Jr.

"War is the mother of all poverty in the world," Camdessus said at the Statler Auditorium April 9. "As long as we continue to flood the small countries of Africa with arms, we cannot help them improve their economies. Most of the weapons come from the G-8 countries, and I have seen the disastrous effect of arms build-up in the
se countries. Poverty, in a global economic context, is our number one threat."

Carefully outlining how the IMF works, Camdessus explained that the organization has a mission to respond to the needs of its member countries and to help develop the orderly working of countries' monetary systems. In addition to economic stabilization, the IMF also aims for economic growth and to promote employment and real income.

Primarily, he said, the IMF -- which was established in 1946 and consists of 183 member countries -- works to improve economic management in countries in normal economic times and assists countries in developing many strategies for crisis management, and it helps countries formulate ways to handle unexpected economic problems.

In countries where there is governmental instability for instance, Camdessus said, the IMF may exercise its clout to help stabilize those economies. The stabilization process, which sometimes involves social and political objectives, exposes the IMF to criticism, he pointed out. But, requiring certain social and political changes are necessary, he said, to attain stability and so that the IMF can get paid back for its loans.

Camdessus, 67, became the seventh managing director and chairman of the executive board of the IMF in January of 1987, and he retired from the IMF in February of 2000. He steered the IMF for nearly 13 years through a succession of economic crises -- such as the Asian financial crisis of the late 1990s. During his tenure at the fund, he earned praise, particularly from American officials, for being an accomplished diplomat able to influence foreign leaders who were reluctant to enact necessary economic changes.

Camdessus' visit to Cornell, as the Henry E. and Nancy Horton Bartels World Affairs Fellow, was hosted by the university's Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies. In addition to his lecture, he met with students and faculty from government and economics classes and with student groups during his two-day stay on campus.

Before the lecture, about 100 student protesters gathered outside the lecture hall to vociferously show their displeasure with IMF policies. The protesters came into the auditorium quietly and as Camdessus began to speak, they left silently en masse.

Toward the end of his talk, Camdessus explained that the IMF has its limitations and cannot be responsible for solving all the world's problems. In answering an audience member's question about IMF policies and the environment, he said the organization cannot be an environmental watch dog. "The IMF is the world's credit union," he said, simply.

Camdessus explained that, economically, the world has become a smaller place.

"Each country must consider the international implications of its economic decisions and think about the regional implications of its actions," he said. "This is what the IMF does with all countries. The world has to recognize that all countries are not in symmetrical [in similar economic] positions."