User:Sherylchan30/sandbox

Asian Crisis - sociological argument
The collapse of the Thai Baht gripped much of East Asia in economic crises, leaving South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia the most troubled. Hong Kong, Malaysia and the Philippines were also affected though with less magnitude. IMF's subsequent bailout of South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia with a $40 billion programme, requiring reforms known as structural adjustment packages, which entailed radically contractionary policies such as diminishing government expenditures and increasing interest rates, coupled with deregulatory reforms. Fundamentally neoliberal, these compulsory reforms garnered accusations by academics of imperialism, since the East Asian model of development was essentially broken down to fit the IMF's ideals, and the sovereignty of affected governments and central banks was curbed. With the USA perhaps the dominant member of the IMF, with some labelling it as "agents for American imperialism".

Sociologist Sarah Babb argues the IMF “[blindly promotes] free markets and its harsh austerity measures”, a huge diversion from John Maynard Keynes' original ideas which were originally the foundations of the IMF. Flawed multilateral agreements prompted "‘slippage’ [in the direction of the IMF] over time”, suggesting members of the IMF with arguably the most power (USA) can shape the intergovernmental organisations’ polices in their favour (economic and financial imperialism) and cripple countries to bolster their economies. This was highlighted in the IMF's interventions during the Asian Crisis - the SAPs were radically laissez-faire (free-market, neoliberal) and perhaps insinuates the US's authority on the conditionality of loans, since the economic meltdown coincided with the economic legacies of the Reagan era. The "mission creep" of the IMF, the expansion of objectives beyond its original targets, can be owed to the nature of the organisation. When an institution such as the IMF depends on nations for resources , namely the US, its primary intent is usually deviated according to the controlling nation, which supports claims the IMF uses its economic and financial dominance to impose their will on less developed countries, as witnessed in the Asian Crisis, where neoliberal economic ideology was forced. Accusations of imperialism by the IMF and US seem clearer by viewing the actions by both through a sociological lens.

Greek Crisis - sociological argument
The Greek Debt Crisis was indirectly caused by the Global Financial Crisis 2008, sending Greece and other nations into prolonged recessions. Greece were bailed out by the IMF, ECB and European Commission with a €110 billion loan, bound by austerity measures and reforms. Measures required by the IMF and the Eurozone in the Greek Crisis included wage freeze / wage cuts on public sector workers, raising the retirement age, increasing taxes and privatisation. These austerity measures caused sharp increases in unemployment, cuts in welfare services disturbed social and healthcare services. This reconstruction of the Greek economy was too fundamentally neoliberal, and was forced through, not taking into account the social model of Greece. As a result of the austerity measures, health and social care systems were severely overwhelmed, because increases in unemployment and fall in wages meant health expenditures fell drastically. Although the Greek economy has somewhat returned to a state of normalcy, from a deep recession, this is purely face value, since sufferings of the Greeks are not accounted for.

Kentikelenis and Seabrooke propose that members of intergovernmental organisations e.g. IMF tend to communicate and force their norms on global level, establishing them as global convention; therefore the IMF’s original objectives have digressed. The IMF was crafted on the ideas of John Maynard Keynes and Harry Dexter White - to prevent economic crises from spreading, although the organisation has since developed a reputation as a harsh institution forcing its will on poorer nations, backing claims the IMF is plagued by modern imperialism. Since powerful nations are required for the IMF to function, it is not a revelation that objectives may diverge over time, giving rise to Kentikelenis and Seabrooke's preposition that influential countries will seek to impose their standards in economic policy on others in crisis e.g. Greece.