It is interesting therefore to contemplate how international factors influenced the fiscal correction of the 1980s.
It also noted that “financial innovation and stability have underpinned US economic success.” The limitations of IMF surveillance in the run-up to the current global crisis are detailed in the recently published IEO1 report. I am not trying to single out the IMF for criticism. Nobody was completely successful in recognizing beforehand the emergence of bubbles and the huge negative impact after its collapse.