What is Surveillance?

Surveillance is one of three main activities of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), together with lending and technical assistance. Via surveillance, the IMF oversees the international monetary system and the policies of all of its member countries to promote global financial and economic stability. It does so at the country, regional, and global levels.

​At the country level, the IMF conducts bilateral surveillance through the ‘Article IV Consultation’, named after Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement. These consultations involve an annual IMF staff visit to each of its member countries, during which they discuss, with government officials and other stakeholders, the country’s overall economic condition, its fiscal and monetary policies, and any perceived economic risks. The IMF then compiles a staff report with an evaluation and recommendations, 

the views of the IMF Executive Board, a summary 
​press release, and in some cases a summary from the Executive Director representing the country. Together, these materials are the Article IV report. ​

Policy advice in Article IV reports is not binding, but it is mandatory for all 189 IMF member states to undergo bilateral surveillance. Nevertheless, research from independent scholars and the IMF suggest the reports can significantly shape macroeconomic policies. Labour unions, academics, United Nations bodies, activists, and civil society organisations argue that the types of macroeconomic policies the IMF promotes through its surveillance undermines the capacity of states to fulfil their human rights obligations, exacerbates inequalities within and between countries, and disproportionately hurts the poor and marginalised. 

 

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Article IV Scanner

Although the IMF publishes Article IV reports on its website, these are only available as individual PDF documents organised under country pages. This means that searching for information about what the IMF is recommending on any particular issue in surveillance is difficult and time-consuming. The Article IV Scanner has therefore been designed to enable civil society, researchers, and officials to search for key words and phrases in over 2,000 IMF Article IV reports since 2000 all in one place. This allows the IMF's bilateral surveillance to be more transparent, accessible, and open to civil society engagement. 

 

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USING the ARTICLE IV Scanner in Advocacy 

The Article IV Scanner is especially designed as a tool for those trying to hold governments and the IMF to account for their rhetoric and commitments. We advise the user to be as precise as possible and to go into the original PDF document for context. The Article IV Scanner is aimed to give users an overview of how the IMF and its members discuss certain issues. It should not be used as a substitute for in-depth research. For instance, the Article IV Scanner may show results of an endorsement of a particular policy, but in advocacy it will also be crucial to understand whether that endorsement is coming from the IMF or from country authorities. If a search does not return results, it does not necessarily mean that the search term is not included in any Article IVs,

as the tool is not 100% accurate and may not search all available Article IV documents. For in-depth research, we recommend the user also read accompanying staff notes and documents relating to IMF lending programs.

In Autumn 2019, the IMF is launching public consultations for its comprehensive surveillance review. This is a 5-yearly event in which the IMF reviews how it conducts surveillance. It is an important opportunity for civil society and researchers to influence the IMF’s work. We envisage that the tool will be especially useful for critical civil society engagement in that process. For questions about the review, contact imfconsultation@imf.org.