The Halifax Initiative is a coalition of Canadian non-governmental organizations for public interest work and education on international financial institutions. Canadian non-governmental organizations formed the Halifax Initiative in December 1994 to ensure that demands for fundamental reform of the international financial institutions (namely the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund [IMF]) would be high on the agenda of the upcoming June 1995 Group of 7 meeting in Halifax. The Halifax Initiative is a coalition of development, environment, faith-based, human rights and labour groups.
The Halifax Initiative Coalition was formed in the context of an international movement of non-governmental organizations focused on evaluating the role and record of the Bretton Woods Institutions at the time of their 50th Anniversary. Canadian NGOs formed the Halifax Initiative in December 1994 to ensure that demands for fundamental reform of the international financial institutions (IFIs) were high on the agenda of the Group of 7's 1995 Halifax Summit.
Today, the Halifax Initiative is a liberal coalition of 19 development, environment, faith-based, human rights and labour groups, and has established itself as the Canadian presence for liberal public interest advocacy and education on IFI reform. Since their beginnings in 1994, they have worked through research, education, advocacy and alliance-building to fundamentally transform the international financial system and its institutions to achieve poverty eradication, environmental sustainability and an equitable re-distribution of wealth.
The coalition's work is focused on issues of:
Over the past fifteen years, the support of their members has proven essential to the success of meeting the Coalition's objectives.
Since December 1994, the Halifax Initiative has built public and policy-maker support for reform of IFIs. Some results from their efforts include the following:
Canada was the first among the Group of 7 to cancel the debt of some of the poorest and most indebted countries, and played a key role in deepening debt relief offered by the World Bank and the IMF. [1] [2]
Halifax Initiative has also been involved in World Bank accountability. Canada was instrumental in the revival of the Inspection Panel in 1999 and in the creation of the Independent Evaluation Office of the IMF in 2000, two key mechanisms for increasing public accountability in the Institutions.
Canada’s played a leadership role internationally in fostering debate over the reform of the global financial system, in recognition of the severe limitations of the IMF's ability to provide global economic stability. For example, Canada’s promoted emergency stand-still clauses, the creation of the G-20, and gave its support for the Tobin tax, a form of capital control.
On March 23, 1999, due in part to the Halifax Initiative work with Members of Parliament, members from all five political parties contributed to a vote which passed a private member motion on the Tobin tax. The motion was originally brought forward by New Democratic Party MP Lorne Nystrom. The motion passed by a margin of 164 to 83, including that of 131 Liberal Party of Canada members. [3] As a result, discussions of the Tobin Tax reemerged in national referendums around the world and in United Nations' studies, and lent growing support for global taxes.
Halifax Initiative has also done work in relation to export credit agencies. [4] In recent years, the Canadian government adopted legislation that requires Canada’s export credit agency (ECA), Export Development Canada, to take into account the environment and to disclose information to the public on the projects it supports. These changes came after over 130,000 Canadians demanded change in a letter-writing campaign facilitated by the Halifax Initiative.
During 2006/7, the Halifax Initiative participated in the multi-stakeholder Advisory Group to the National Roundtables on Corporate Social Responsibility and the Canadian Extractive Industry in Developing Countries (EDC). [5] The participation of Halifax Initiative staff in the Advisory Group facilitated the inclusion of recommendations regarding EDC in the final, consensus-based report. Those recommendations concern the adoption of enhanced transparency, human rights and environmental policies by EDC.
The Halifax Initiative has been actively engaged in the mandate of the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative on business and human rights. In 2008, Halifax Initiative submitted an analysis on the human rights obligations of export credit agencies to the Special Representative, John Ruggie. Mr. Ruggie acknowledged Halifax Initiative's work in this area and has called for enhanced human rights due diligence by export credit agencies.
The Halifax Initiative worked on advocacy and media work around the Western China Poverty Reduction Project, and the Alumysa Aluminum smelter in Patagonia. These projects were subsequently cancelled or suspended.
Among other things, Halifax Initiative institutionalized bi-annual civil society consultations with the Finance Minister on international financial institutions issues.
Halifax Initiative has informed thousands of Canadians through their Teach-Ins, film-screenings, conferences, tours and press releases about issues related to and including the World Bank, IMF, G20, G8, privatization, human rights and international debt.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 190 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of last resort to national governments, and a leading supporter of exchange-rate stability. Its stated mission is "working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world."
The economy of Togo has struggled greatly. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) ranks it as the tenth poorest country in the world, with development undercut by political instability, lowered commodity prices, and external debts. While industry and services play a role, the economy is dependent on subsistence agriculture, with industrialization and regional banking suffering major setbacks.
The economy of Yemen has significantly weakened since the breakout of the Yemeni Civil War and the humanitarian crisis, which has caused instability, escalating hostilities, and flooding in the region. At the time of unification, South Yemen and North Yemen had vastly different but equally struggling underdeveloped economic systems. Since unification, the economy has been forced to sustain the consequences of Yemen's support for Iraq during the 1990–91 Persian Gulf War: Saudi Arabia expelled almost 1 million Yemeni workers, and both Saudi Arabia and Kuwait significantly reduced economic aid to Yemen. The 1994 civil war further drained Yemen's economy. As a consequence, Yemen has relied heavily on aid from multilateral agencies to sustain its economy for the past 24 years. In return, it has pledged to implement significant economic reforms. In 1997 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved two programs to increase Yemen's credit significantly: the enhanced structural adjustment facility and the extended funding facility (EFF). In the ensuing years, Yemen's government attempted to implement recommended reforms: reducing the civil service payroll, eliminating diesel and other subsidies, lowering defense spending, introducing a general sales tax, and privatizing state-run industries. However, limited progress led the IMF to suspend funding between 1999 and 2001.
The economy of Madagascar is US$9.769 billion by gross domestic product as of 2020, being a market economy and is supported by an agricultural industry and emerging tourism, textile and mining industries. Malagasy agriculture produces tropical staple crops such as rice and cassava, as well as cash crops such as vanilla and coffee.
Hans Eichel is a German politician (SPD) and the co-founder of the G20, or "Group of Twenty", an international forum for the governments and central bank governors of twenty developed and developing nations to discuss policy issues pertaining to the promotion of international financial stability.
Structural adjustment programs (SAPs) consist of loans provided by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) to countries that experience economic crises. Their stated purpose is to adjust the country's economic structure, improve international competitiveness, and restore its balance of payments.
The Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt (CADTM), formerly called the Committee for the Cancellation of the Third World Debt (CCTWD), is an international network of activists founded on 15 March 1990 in Belgium that campaigns for the cancellation of debts in developing countries and for "the creation of a world respectful of people’s fundamental rights, needs and liberties.
An export credit agency or investment insurance agency is a private or quasi-governmental institution that acts as an intermediary between national governments and exporters to issue export insurance solutions and guarantees for financing. The financing can take the form of credits or credit insurance and guarantees or both, depending on the mandate the ECA has been given by its government. ECAs can also offer credit or cover on their own account. This does not differ from normal banking activities. Some agencies are government-sponsored, others private, and others a combination of the two.
Export Development Canada is Canada's export credit agency and a Crown corporation wholly owned by the Government of Canada. Its mandate is to support and develop trade between Canada and other countries, and help Canada's competitiveness in the international marketplace.
An international financial institution (IFI) is a financial institution that has been established by more than one country, and hence is subject to international law. Its owners or shareholders are generally national governments, although other international institutions and other organizations occasionally figure as shareholders. The most prominent IFIs are creations of multiple nations, although some bilateral financial institutions exist and are technically IFIs. The best known IFIs were established after World War II to assist in the reconstruction of Europe and provide mechanisms for international cooperation in managing the global financial system.
The Bretton Woods Project works as a networker, information-provider, media informant and watchdog to scrutinise and influence the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Through briefings, reports and the bimonthly digest Bretton Woods Update, it monitors projects, policy reforms and the overall management of the Bretton Woods institutions with special emphasis on environmental and social concerns.
The Export–Import Bank of China is a policy bank of China under the State Council. Established in 1994, the bank was chartered to implement the state policies in industry, foreign trade, economy, and foreign aid to other developing countries, and provide policy financial support so as to promote the export of Chinese products and services.
The 1998–99 Ecuador economic crisis was a period of economic instability that resulted from a combined inflationary-currency crisis, financial crisis, fiscal crisis, and sovereign debt crisis. Severe inflation and devaluation of the sucre led to President Jamil Mahuad announcing on January 9, 2000 that the U.S. dollar would be adopted as the national currency. Poor economic conditions and subsequent protests against the government resulted in the 2000 Ecuadoran coup d’état in which Jamil Mahuad was forced to resign and was replaced by his Vice President, Gustavo Noboa.
A financial transaction tax (FTT) is a levy on a specific type of financial transaction for a particular purpose. The tax has been most commonly associated with the financial sector for transactions involving intangible property rather than real property. It is not usually considered to include consumption taxes paid by consumers.
This article is a list of all notable reaction to James Tobin's 1972 proposal of what is now known as the Tobin tax.
Stephany Griffith-Jones is an economist specializing in international finance and development. Her expertise lies in the reform of the international financial system, particularly in financial regulation, global governance, and international capital flows. Currently, she serves as a member of the Governor Board at the Central Bank of Chile. She has held various positions throughout her career, including financial markets director at the Initiative for Policy Dialogue based at Columbia University, associate fellow at the Overseas Development Institute, and professorial fellow at the Institute of Development Studies at Sussex University.
Greece is one of the original members of the International Monetary Fund, joining it on December 27, 1945. It has a quota of 2,428.90 million SDRs and 25,754 votes, 0.51% of the total IMF quota and votes. Greece has been represented on the IMF Board of Governors by Minister of Finance Christos Staikouras since 2019. Greece elects an Executive Director on the fund's Executive Board with Albania, Italy, Malta, Portugal and San Marino. Michail Psalidopoulos is the elected alternate director. Greece has signed two loan agreements with the IMF: a Stand-By Arrangement from 2010 to 2012 and an agreement under the Extended Fund Facility from 2012 to 2016, borrowing a total of 27,766.3 million SDR. Greece owes the IMF 6,735.64 million SDR, and is the fund's third-largest borrower. In 2018, the fund began conducting annual post-program monitoring of Greece in addition to its annual Article IV consultation.
Cambodia officially joined the IMF on December 31, 1969. After years of internal and external strife, the Cambodian government is currently focusing its attention to rebuilding and renovating the national economy through grants and loans from multilateral sources like the International Monetary Fund. Cambodia gained independence in 1953, which was the starting point of industrialization. Cambodia faced a downhill between 1975 till 1979, which damaged all the infrastructure and economy, economical and a tragic event — genocide which killed millions of innocent citizens and especially the loss of human resources, which caused the Cambodian economy to drop to the lowest point. The Cambodian economy started lively in 1993, hugely relying on the foreign market to export agricultural produce, especially rice. In March 1994, the International Committee for the Reconstruction of Cambodia (ICORC) developed a comprehensive plan in effort to support Washington Consensus policy prescriptions. These reforms aimed to shift the economy from a socialist state-controlled economy towards a capitalistic market-controlled one. Since then they've had a total of two arrangements addressing fiscal management. Directors approved a loan for SDR 28.0 million in support of Cambodia's 1995-96 macroeconomic and structural reformations. In 1997 domestic political uncertainty following an alleged coup d’état halted IMF disbursements but resumed again in 1998 after the formation of a new government. Since the 1990s there have been no active IMF loans, but Cambodian and IMF relations continue through Technical Assistant strategies and yearly Article IV reports.
Bolivia joined the IMF on December 27, 1945. Since 1945, Bolivia has cooperated with the IMF to achieve social reforms and economic growth. These efforts have involved strategies to reduce poverty, increase social equity, improve the education system and healthcare system, and expand social services to rural populations and underserved urban communities. Since 1984, Bolivia has been an active client of the fund, accessing 19 credit lines with the fund since joining.
Myanmar, officially joined the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as of January 3, 1952; shortly before the end of term for the Union of Myanmar's first President, Sao Shwe Thaik, and the induction of Ba U. Since the induction of Myanmar as a member of the institution, they have made six arrangements with the IMF with its most recent arrangement made in 1981. As of 2019, they are currently led by Kyaw Kyaw Maung and Alternate U Soe Thein; their Special Drawing Rights (SDR) is at 0.79 million and quota consists of $516.8 million SDR which is 0.11% of the total IMF funds available. As of 2019, the country is under one of the twenty-four Executive Boards that facilitates the day-to-day operations of the IMF, led by Alisara Mahasandana and Alternate Keng Heng Tan; their co-board members consist of Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Republic of Fiji, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Tonga, and Vietnam. The Executive Board accumulates around 218,545 total votes which account for 4.34% of the Fund's total, Myanmar allocates 6,633 of the votes.