ABSTRACT
Indeed, particularly in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis, which witnessed the collapse of financial institutions, prolonged downturns in world markets, and the massive and often unpopular bailouts of banks and companies by national governments, the deepening institutionalization of the Fund has manifested itself in the IMF’s movement from international organization (the IMF as a lender of last resort) to global financial governor (the IMF as an organization capable of governing the world economy), given the need to coordinate global economic reform not only to ensure the stabilization of currency markets but also to bring about enhanced worldwide macroeconomic growth. This new period in the history of the Fund will most likely come to be viewed as one in which it has responded to great criticism and performed its most pivotal role as a norm-setting crisis manager. The direction the G20 chooses to set for the Fund will lay the groundwork for the institution’s relevance within the global financial architecture in the coming decades.
