International Financial Institutions: An Introduction

International financial institutions are institutions operating at an international level, giving loans to governments for large scale projects on condition that they increase the economic growth. The main aim of setting up these institutions was to promote the economic growth and to reduce the depressions. The two main international financial institutions are International Monetary Fund and World Bank which were developed at the time of World War II in the year 1944, for regulating the world financial system and providing investment for war recovery. These two institutions are also called "Bretton Wood Institutions". This book on “International Financial Institutions – An Introduction" is a collection of ten eminent articles divided into two sections. The first section titled “Introduction to IFIs" discusses the origin, structure, purpose and activities of IFIs. It also discusses the two important IFIs – the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. It further examines the governance, accountability and transparency in IFIs and then describes the issues and challenges IFIs face in terms of their globalization. The second section titled "Roles and Responsibilities" discusses the basic roles and responsibilities that IFIs have, like supporting trade liberalization in developing countries, protecting human rights, preventing and resolving conflicts.