The World Economy: Powerful IMF

In their headstrong hurry to build plants atop plantations, many of the world's developing nations go for broke—and could end up there. When they get in a jam, they usually turn to a club of worldly bankers called the International Monetary Fund, set up at the Bretton Woods conference in 1944 to give emergency, short-term aid to ailing economies. The IMF has become a powerful and controversial force in the world economy, forcing upon loan-seeking nations stiff conditions that frequently rescue their economies but gall their free-spending politicians. With loans at work...

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