International Financial Institution Advisory Commission

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The International Financial Institution Advisory Commission, also known as the Meltzer Commission — named for its chair, Professor Allan Meltzer — was established by the United States Congress in November 1998 "to recommend future US policy toward several multilateral institutions: the IMF, the World Bank Group, the regional development banks such as the Inter-American Development Bank, the Bank for International Settlements, and the WTO"^[1] as part of legislation authorizing $18 billion of U.S. funding for the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The Commission's majority report proposed changes to the operations of the International Monetary Fund and especially to those of development banks such as the World Bank, which the majority recommended should withdraw from lending to so-called "middle income countries". Two Commission members nominated by the then-minority Congressional Democrats dissented from the majority's recommendations and a third voted for the report but joined the dissent (hence 12 votes from 11 members).

An alternative perspective is offered by Susanne Soederberg, Associate Professor, Development Studies, Queen's University (Ontario): "The Meltzer Commission drew public attention to the shortcomings of the IFIs but also heightened the legitimacy crisis of neoliberal restructuring of the global South, especially in HIPCs. For instance, the commission charged the IMF with giving too little attention to improving financial structures in developing countries and too much to expensive rescue operations." ^[2]

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[edit] External links

• What is the Meltzer Commission Report?University of Iowa Center for International Finance & Development