The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C. and consisting of 190 member countries. Its stated mission is “to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world”. Established in 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference, primarily by the ideas of Harry Dexter White and John Maynard Keynes, the IMF came into formal existence on 27 December 1945, with 29 member countries and the goal of reconstructing the international monetary system. The organisation’s objectives, as stated in the Articles of Agreement, are to promote international monetary co-operation, international trade, high employment, exchange rate stability, sustainable economic growth and making resources available to member countries in financial difficulty.
The IMF plays a central role in the management of balance of payments difficulties and international financial crises. IMF funds come from two major sources: quotas and loans. Quotas, which are pooled funds of member nations, generate most IMF funds. Countries experiencing balance of payments problems can borrow money from this common pool. The size of a member’s quota depends on its economic and financial importance in the world. Nations with greater economic significance have larger quotas. The quotas are increased periodically as a means of boosting the IMF’s resources in the form of special drawing rights.
Through the fund and other activities such as the gathering of statistics and analysis, surveillance of its members’ economic and financial policies, and the demand for particular policies, the IMF works to improve the economies of its member countries.
(Based on the Wikipedia entry on the IMF.)