ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on who is conducting the surveillance—namely the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO)—and how well they are doing it. The potential for time inconsistency creates a reason why involving an international organization in surveillance makes sense. Time inconsistency suggests that country statements of transparency might not be particularly credible, because governments face incentives to reveal information, and then make different policies based on the reaction to that information. A review of the headlines suggests that politicians are growing increasingly critical of the international organizations that their countries have created. Because the IMF's and WTO's activities in surveillance are designed to reveal information that countries have incentives to keep private, they serve as a vital tool for solving global problems. A study of surveillance has policy importance as well as theoretical importance. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
