Providing short-term financial assistance
usually no more than 5 years to help countries with balance of payment
deficits to return to equilibrium, at the same time avoiding conflicts
between nations.
Long term aims included facilitating the expansion and
growth of international trade, the promotion of high levels of employment
and income and the development of the production resources of its members.
Function/ Tools of the IMF:
Main
Tool: Common Fund - Gold/Reserve Tranche.
Each
country was allowed to draw funds amounting to 25% of its gold deposits.
When Reserve Tranche was used up it could borrow additional money from the IMF
under the Credit Tranches (Max. 4).
The more tranches one took, the higher interest repayment and the more stringent
the regulations on the loans.
Loans
were unconditional only when using Gold/Reserve Tranches.
IMF was not a popular lending institution because when loans exceeded a certain
amount, the IMF imposed stabilization
programmes (deflationary policies and implementation of trade and
liberalization policies) which required the borrower to manage its economy well
and to make certain economic adjustments before further loans could be extended
to it.
Thus, IMF demanded austerity and sacrifice from the workers in order to slow
down inflation in the country.
However,
this was not necessarily a good thing.
Although the prices of goods were kept low, the fall in purchasing power of
consumers due to fall in real income often resulted in the stagnation of the
economy.
Furthermore,
trade liberalization brought with it competition that might destroy local
markets and industries. The issue of sovereignty was also involved inasmuch as
the IMF assumed a degree of control of the member country’s economy.
Features of the IMF:
Voting power was to be
proportionate to the quota of funds deposited by members in IMF.
All member countries had to
declare that they would fulfill the obligations in repayment. Failure to
do so would result in denial of access to IMF resources and withdrawal
from IMF.
Special Drawing Rights based
on a country’s contributions to the IMF.
Vital to int’l trade as it
acted as an intermediary between creditor and debtor nations, ensuring
that the debtors did not default their debt repayments.
Third World always
considered IMF to be unfair. WHY?
üVoting
power within IMF proportionate to country’s economic power. The G10 alone held
51% of votes in IMF. Since most decisions made and loans to be approved
required 85% of the votes, the Western states had a decisive power in
authorizing loans to Third World nations.
Contradicted “One Nation, One Vote” principle.
üSDR
dependent upon country’s contributions to IMF which is economic power.
üDissatisfied
with the stringent conditionality and the IMF stabilization programmes.
(Can be Self-destructive – imposing anachronistic and irrelevant solutions,
lack of enforcement measures – blocked growth by placing severe strains on
purchasing power of masses)
üAccused
of practicing double standards by favoring anti-communist/non socialist
governments even if they did not respect human rights. E.g. Argentina, Chile,
Jamaica
However
stringent conditions necessary because it would merely be a black hole for IMF
aid if fundamental economic problems were not solved.
Consequences:
Third World countries refusing to accept the IMF’s stringent
conditions, turned to private banks for loans which were more expensive but had
more relaxed terms. By 1981, the LDCs had borrowed US$500 billion from private
banks.
This in
part, contributed to towards the Third World Debt Crisis as private banks lent
out vast sums of money at usurious interest rates for little or no collateral.
Perhaps,
the IMF should have begun to be more sensitive to Third
World conditions and to realize that stringent conditions could
prevent Third World Countries from developing their economies or rectifying
their economic problems.
World Bank (1945-current)
Purpose: Slogan:
“PEACE THROUGH PROSPERITY”
To help
poorer countries in their economic development by extending loans at low
interest rates for long-term development projects.
Institutions:
IBRD (International bank for
Reconstruction and Development)
- To lend money to government for development purposes at current
interests rates.
- Economic Development Institute in 1955 to increase official’s ability to
solve economic problems.
IFC (International Finance
Corporation)
- To assist the economic development of Third World countries by promoting
growth in the private sector and to help to mobilize domestic and foreign
capital for this purpose.
IDA (International
Development Agency)
- To provide loans at low interest rates to poor countries, only to
governments and had to be repaid over a period of 35-40 years, aiming to
promote economic and social progress in developing countries by raising
productivity.
Work:
-Only
to governments if projects were deemed to be feasible. (Bank prepared a
comprehensive survey of the country’s economy to ensure that it is
credit-worthy and would not default on its debt repayments.)
-To
promote international trade and increase productivity by providing credit to
private sector if private enterprises were unable to obtain public credit.
Why is it IMPORTANT?
-Many
private banks were unable to provide massive loans for social projects due to
amount of risk involved. WB can fill in the void by providing the funds.
-Played
an impt role in rescheduling Third World Debts. It ensured that no Third World
Country defaulted on its debt, something that might potentially bring about a
world financial crisis.
-Special
Initiatives also helped to alleviate sufferings of peoples in the Third World and aid in post-war reconstruction.
However,
-Criticized
for turning WB into a giant global welfare agency.
-As
voting power has always been proportionate to contributions of member states,
WB had been criticized as being a lackey of the West, as major donors, US, UK,
G, Fr, Jp control 80% of the votes, thus dominating the institution. (Rejecting
hostilities)
-“The
IMF and WB have become de facto subordinated to US foreign policy.” – Hobsbawm
-Interfering
into economic policy of countries in trouble, infringing upon their
sovereignty.
-State
enterprises more inefficient and less innovative than private firms, thus
resulting in stagnation of economic growth in Third World Countries.
-As
long as the WB was willing to pour money into incompetent Third
World regimes, the governments had little incentive to galvanize
their economic performance to optimum levels.
-Lack
of enforcement mechanisms led aid money to be poorly spent and even siphoned
off at times. E.g. Eygpt, Sudan
GENERAL AGREEMENT
ON TARIFFS AND TRADE (1947-1994)
WORLD TRADE
ORGANISATION (1995-current)
Purpose:To
establish a system of Tariff Reductions. (Multilateral trade agreement) Primary function
was to run irregular conferences which allowed states to engage
in a series of bilateral (and
slow) negotiations to reduce tariffs.
Geneva Round (1947) – made possible because of American leadership in Int’l Economy
Dillon Round (1960-2):
Many tariffs
between the USA and the EC
and between USA and Britain
were cut by 20%.
Kennedy Round (1963-7):
Applied
the principle of across-the-board tariff reductions on individual products.
Reductions
averaged 36%, with 46 countries making concessions affecting 75% of world
trade.
(Major step forward and accounts for much of the boom in world trade during
this decade.)
Tokyo Round (1973-9):
Dealt
mainly with industrial countries, which cut some tariffs by up to one third.
Some progress was made in resolving disputes concerning subsidies,
countervailing duties and dumping. This represented considerable progress, but
Article 19 of Agreement allowed states to restrain imports where they caused
“serious injury” to domestic industry.
Uruguay Round (1986-93):
To
extend GATT’s cover from one third to two thirds of world trade – pulling in
services, investment and agriculture. It dealt with major problems such as
agricultural protection and export subsidies, the liberalization of the
fast-growing trade in services and the development of better means of settling
disputes.
UNCTAD (United Nations Conference
on Trade and Development) (1964):
A
representation for the Third World Countries – but was a failure in organizing
increased trade with the possible exception of the “voluntary agreement”, such
as the Multi-Fiber Arrangements which controlled the developed countries’
imports of textiles and allowed the developing countries some, though limited,
access to their markets.
SUCCESSFUL?
-Obviously,
tariffs and other barriers to trade were greatly reduced and liberalization of
int’l trade was instrumental in the development of world economy.
-However,
developed states continued to protect their domestic industries in various
ways, such as “dumping” (selling goods in foreign markets at artificially low
prices just to keep domestic factories open) or imposing “national standards”
(absurd regulations to keep out imports).
-The
EC’s “price assistance” to its farmers was a euphemism for subsidies to
undercut foreign imports, while the social and economic costs of the financial
crisis of American farmers led the US government to adopt similar
measures. Likewise, as regards textiles, the US government was unwilling, for
political reasons, to allow the domestic textile industry to suffer unduly from
foreign competition.
-Complaints
of developing countries about tariffs on agricultural goods and on textiles
continued to carry little weight.
-Real
economic power continued to lie with Europe, Japan
and USA,
in many ways.
We can run so fast in our hurry-up society that the dust of activity can dull our conscious awareness of the treasures of our future, our dreams. The tyranny of the urgent constantly pushes us to the next thing, until like the overworked Israelites in Egypt, we become too tired to dream.
Joseph's friend, the butler, was so busy serving the king he forgot how important dreams had been in his life. Joseph forgot the toil (Genesis 41:51), but never forgot his dreams.
"...God speaketh... in a dream... He openeth the ears of men, and sealeth their instruction."Job 33:15-16.
DESIRES
From "Hind's feet on High places":
DESIRE FULLFILLED:
Jesus always fulfills the desires in our hearts, the desires that He has placed in us. It is just that He almost always does it differently than we expected. We think He is tossing aside our desires like unwanted gifts. When you feel this way, remember Jesus' words to Peter: "You do not understand now what I am doing, but you will understand later on." (John 13:7)
Lord Jesus, help me to sink the roots of my soul deeply into the fact that you are loving, good, reliable, nuturing, accepting, just and impartial - that You love me and have my best interests in mind. Thank You that you are faithfully orchestrating each minute detail in my life for my good, even when things dont appear the way as I want them. Now release the details of today's expectations to Him and allow Him to accomplish His will in your life.
DEEPEST DESIRE:
With gratefullness welling up in your soul for who your God is, sit in Jesus' presence and allow Him to draw you to Himself. LIsten to Him carefully. If He were to specifically ask you, "Would you be willing to trust Me even if everything in the wide world seemed to say that I was deceiving you - indeed that I have deceived you all along," what would you say?
Take a moment before coming to a conclusion. Could you say with the psalmist: "Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You" (Psalms 73:25) "You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing" (Psalms 16:2)
Express your conclusion to Him in complete honesty, knowing that He already knows anyway. His love for you is not affected by your answer. Give Him your heart - whatever place or condition it is in. Lord, I thank You for receiving me as I am. I bare my heart before You.
DEEP CALLING
"Deep calls to deep at the sound of Thy waterfalls; all Thy breakers and Thy waves have rolled over me." (Psalms 42:7)
Remember all the times you laid down your will for His will? There were times it seems you would surely break under strain. Yet you propelled forward in spite of the obstacles and detours. That was the "deep calling to the deep". When His waves of love and acceptance, when His waves of letting you know that you are of great value, totally forgiven, and complete in Him rolls over you, they break all the bondages of the past. His everlasting weight of glory makes those painful afflictions seem momentary and light.
Ask Jesus to open up this mystery to you in a practical way. Then thank Him that you are secure, loved and treaured. Be encouraged to risk responding to the cell of the "deep" -your mysterious, poignant, sweet summons from Him.
If Bro Tenny can call his sermon "scrambled eggs", I can call entry the MESSY ROJAK! Nope. I am just too bored trying to do my UN essay, on the other hand, I am carrying the disease of always having scrambled, random but valid ideas. Blogging will come in as a good tool for this.
TOPIC: Singapore and the United Nations Developmental Challenges - Poverty, Peace & Security and Environmental Degradation: Where Do We Go from Here?
Basically, this is supposed to be an essay in which I show critical analysis. This is also supposed to be a group effort, so I will only be touching on SECURITY AND PEACE. :D 1DEVELOPMENTAL CHALLENGES Throughout history, the quest for superiority in political status, ideology, race and religion have been the issues of concern. More often than not, in the course to... (not complete)
Conflicts of interests across the borders or even internally shakes up the fundamental stability and governance of a country. Ultimately, the sovereignty of a state is attacked.
2GENERAL IDEA TO ALLEVIATE PROBLEMS AND TO PREVENT POTENTIAL THREATS FROM EMERGING:FURTHER REINFORCE BROTHERLINESS, UNDERSTANDING and A SENSE OF ALTRUISM!
It is important to take a pragmatic stance on such sensitive issues together with strategical gradualism of the implementation of policies passed.
First step: UNDERSTANDING !
Next healthy step: BROTHERLINESS ! Powers, big or small, have a say in charting the course of global destiny.
Happy state: Having a SENSE OF ALTRUISM ! 3 (Main Studies I am going to touch on:) PROLIFERATION OF WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) !
WHY this TOPIC!? World War III (if there is gg to be one) will be a chemical war in no doubt, if nothing is going to done about this rising force of emotional and psycological blackmail.
Common Direct Response to this problem: Mass Destruction of WMD all around the world! MUAHAHA!
However, it would be: UNREALISTIC (there is always no promise that countries will cooperate, as well as guarantee that all countries will participate in this policy) and; INSENSITIVE (to needs of a country - the forces that initially pressurized a country to invest so much on nuclear weapons)!
Just imagine all potentially emerging conflicts that would arise out of strifles and disagreements to this judgement passed! How about countries that promised to do so but secretly keeps their weapons? After all, they have the right to choose not to be binded by policies that conflict the interests of their country!
Alright. Maybe I am pessimistic. Lets assume that every country will be so friendly as to destroy all its prized possessions of WMD created through extensive and expensive R&D! There will still be a potential threat to security and peace, disguised in other forms - naked, brutal force, economic sanctions, propaganda and secret intelligence.
The root problem as to why WMD were built to try defend themselves in the first place was because of the suspense of tension when countries rub against one another's interests.
Ideas to solve problem: Further the promotion of understanding between countries in open talks - no holding of states in suspense - misunderstandings that might cause an unheaval to be minimised since declaration of war would benefit no state.
UN - WMD AWARENESS PROGRAMME: http://www.comeclean.org.uk/articles.php?articleID=31 TERRORISM ! RELIGIOUS CONFLICTS!
Vamp:
God, give us a heart, give us a heart
Give us Your heart
God, give us a heart
Deep cries out to deep
God, give us a heart, give us a heart
Give us Your heart
God, give us a heart
For the least of these
Lord, I reach for You
Lead me to Your heart
And I thirst for You
Draw me deeper still
Chorus:
Deeper into the water
Deeper until I’m under
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Living water flow and overtake us
Oh, oh, flow
Healing water flow and overtake us,
Overtake us Lord
Close enough to feel
The cadence of Your heart
Streams of justice flow
To the least of these
Chorus
Vamp (2x)
For the least of these,
For the widow and the orphan, Jesus
For the elderly among us, God
Give us a heart for Africa
Oh burn it deep within us
Burn it deep within us God
Take us deeper
Take us deeper
"The voice of my Beloved! Behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills" (Song of Solomon 2:8).
There are no obstacles which our Saviour's love cannot overcome, and that to Him, mountains of difficulty are as easy as an asphalt road!
As Christians we know, in theory at least, that in the life of a child of God, there are no second causes, that even the most unjust and cruel things, as well as all seemingly pointless and undeserved sufferings, have been permitted by God as glorious opportunities for us to react to them in such a way that our Lord and Saviour is able to produce in us, little by little, His own lovely character.
The High Places of victory and union with Christ cannot be reached by any mental reckoning of self to be dead to sin, or by seeking to devise some way or discipline by which the will can be crucified. The only way is by learning to accept, day by day, the actual conditions and tests permitted by God, by a continually repeated laying down of our will and acceptance of His as it is presented to us in the form of the people with whom we have to live and work, and in the things which happen to us.
Every acceptance of His will becomes an altar of sacrifice, and every such surrender and abandonment of ourselves to His will is a means of furthering us on the way to the High Places to which He desires to bring every child of His while they are still living on earth.
"The Lord God maketh my feet like hinds' feet, and setteth me upon mine High Places" (Ps. 18:33 and Hab. 3:19)
9pm - 11pm: is the time for eliminating unnecessary/toxic chemicals
(detoxification) from the antibody system (lymph nodes). This time duration
should be spent by relaxing or listening to music. If during this time a
housewife is still in an unrelaxed state such as washing the dishes or
monitoring children doing their homework, this will have a negative impact
on health.
11pm - 1am: is the detoxification process in the liver, and ideally should
be done in a deep sleep state.
1am - 3am: detoxification process in the gall, also ideally done in a deep
sleep state.
3am - 5am: detoxification in the lungs. Therefore there will sometimes be a
severe cough for cough sufferers during this time. Since the detoxification
process had reached the respiratory tract, there is no need to take cough
medicine so as not to interfere with toxin removal process.
5am - 7am: detoxification in the colon, you should empty your bowel.
7am - 9am: absorption of nutrients in the small intestine, you should be
having breakfast at this time. Breakfast should be earlier, before 6:30am,
for those who are sick. Breakfast before 7:30am is very beneficial to those
wanting to stay fit. Those who always skip breakfast, they should change
their habits, and it is still better to eat breakfast late until 9 - 10am
rather than no meal at all.
Sleeping so late and waking up too late will disrupt the process of
removing unnecessary chemicals. Aside from that, midnight to 4:00 am is the
time when the bone marrow produces blood. Therefore, have a good sleep and
don't sleep late.
It is all about what you do in your prayer closet. Things in the spirit are moved by your earnest cries, mournings and praises to God. In Prayer we break silence, and sometimes those words flow out of our deepest parts.
Something to remind myself! 16 Things that Hinder the FLOW OF THE SPIRIT. 1. Unbelief 2. Disobedience 3. Fear 4. Jealousy 5. Bitterness 6. Lust 7. Malice 8. Greed 9. Anxiety/Worry 10. Judging/Criticism 11. Grumbling/Complaining 12. Pride/Ambition 13. Temper 14. Selfishness 15. Covetousness 16. Impatience
