Complete Special Issue S1: Is there a need for 'reforms' in IMF?

The Second World War was responsible for the creation of two multilateral financial institutions because of the abolition of the gold standard. The war had created two sets of global problems: first, problems of world trade and currency issues; second, how to reconstruct the world economy ravaged by the Second World War. Accordingly, multilateral institutions, namely, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank), were established on July 24, 1944. They started functioning in 1945. For creating multilateral institutions for solving trade and currency issues, 44 nations had gathered at Bretton Woods in New Hampshire, United States. The primary objective of establishing the IMF was to foster global monetary cooperation among the member countries on the one hand and on the other hand to create a conducive environment to facilitate trade and currency issues. Since its inception, the IMF has been playing a positive and constructive role in the promotion of world trade and solving balance-of-payments crises, particularly in developing economies. More than 73 years have elapsed, and the world economy has been witnessing radical changes in terms of contents and role. However, the IMF has not caused any change in its structure, management, and functioning. Therefore, the countries across the world have started raising their voice to bring the considerably required reforms in the 73-year-old Fund.