IMF's work and the key competencies of its economists

On February 27, the IMF Resident Representative for Russian Federation Annette Kyobe spoke at the event "FinAnalysis.Meetups", HSE Banking Institute.

Annette talked about the work of the fund, the prospects for the Russian economy and what the necessary competencies for economists are in this area. The key excerpts from the speech are:

What the IMF is?

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was created to sustain international monetary stability in order of unobstructed movement of goods and services in the world. While the World Bank is engaged in investing in a macro projects and aimed at struggling with the global challenges (i.e. poverty, development of infrastructure projects, energy, inequality, etc.), the IMF’s activity in the areas of macroeconomics and monetary policy is mostly advisory. The IMF lends countries with difficult economic situation.

Expectations for the Russian economy

For several years now, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation has been gradually reducing its key rate. On February 7, it was reduced by 0.25% points - up to 6% per annum. Ms. Kyobe noted that this is undoubtedly a positive signal for the Russian economy and that, according to the IMF forecast, Russia's GDP growth will increase from the current 1.3% to 1.9% by 2021.

Improvement in the fiscal policy, the statements of the Russian President Vladimir Putin about increase in social spendings to support low-income citizens and the role of national projects in growth stimulation of the Russian economy are within another positive signals Annette called.

Modern world challenges we face

Inequality: 62 of the richest people on our planet have the same amount of wealth as 3.5 billion people. It means that we should stimulate income growth among the lower-income people and we don’t have to redistribute wealth towards to them. Also Annette mentioned about the introduction of an increased "inheritance tax" as a tool to improve situation.

Employment of women in the economy: some job positions still impose restrictions by gender, and in some countries even legal restrictions on women's work exist. The IMF study indicated, for example, if female employment rate increased to the male level, the GDP growth in the USA  would increase by 5%, in Japan - by 9%, and in India - by 27%.

Climate change: the damage from global warming is estimated by the IMF analysts in hundreds of millions of dollars for the global economy. The IMF also initiates consultations with governments on how effectively, from an economic point of view, to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Increased efficiency can be achieved through the introduction of a tax on emissions and subsidies for green energy projects.

Сore competencies for work in the IMF

— Required PhD in macroeconomics with a focus on international finance;
— Strong analytical and math abilities;
— Strong emotional intelligence, a high level of patience, curiousity, ability to be adaptable different situations, multi-tasking skills.