Imagine a game of cards where the rules mean some players hold all the aces while some are only allowed twos and threes. And the rules can only be changed by those holding all the aces.
“They,” of course, are the high-income countries while low- and middle-income countries are largely powerless in this game.
Now guess what happens when the International Monetary Fund countries get together as they did recently to rewrite the rules? It’s even worse than what you may be thinking. The latest IMF review of the rules, or “quota shares” to use the jargon, has made it even harder for future reviews to make the system fairer.
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About the authors
Emma Burgisser
Emma Burgisser is the economic justice lead at Christian Aid. She has over 10 years of experience in global policy advocacy, with expertise in international finance institutions, fiscal justice, gender equality, and human rights. She holds a master’s in International and European Law from the University of Groningen with a focus on International Human Rights Law.
Chiara Mariotti
Chiara Mariotti is a development economist with more than 15 years of experience in research, advocacy, and public campaigning in international development. She leads on debt and development finance at the Open Society Foundations. She holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the School of Oriental and African Studies.
