Below is a list of selected articles that informed the development of the NGO Code of Conduct for Health Systems Strengthening. Some are available via the Web links provided while others can be found in common medical and public health journals.

  • Palitza K. Africa: Who is to blame for the crisis? Inter Press Service. 18 Nov 2008. (Web page)
  • Center for Global Development. Does the IMF constrain health spending in poor countries? Evidence and an agenda for action. Washington, DC, USA: Center for Global Development; 2007. (Download PDF.)
  • Marphatia AA, Moussie R, Ainger, A, Archer, D. Confronting the contradictions: The IMF, wage bill caps and the case for teachers. Washington, DC, USA: Action Aid USA; 2007. (Web site.)
  • McKinley T, Hailu D. The macroeconomic debate: On scaling up HIV/AIDS financing. Brasilia, DF, Brazil: International Poverty Center, UN Development Programme; 2006. (Download PDF.)
  • Gloyd, S. “Sapping the Poor” in Fort MP, Mercer MA, Gish O, eds. Sickness and Wealth: the Corporate Assault on Global Health, 1st ed. Cambridge, Massachusetts: South End Press; 2004.
  • Schoepf BG et al. “Theoretical Therapies” in Kim JY, Irwin A, Millen JV, Gershman J, eds. Dying for Growth: Global Inequality and the Health of the Poor, Common Courage Press; 2000.
  • Gary I. “Confrontation, co-operation or co-optation: NGOs and the Ghanaian state during structural adjustment,” Review of African Political Economy. June 1996; Volume 23, Number 68: pgs. 149-68.

Resources compiled by the IMF Working Group:

  • Hailu D. The macroeconomics of scaling-up aid: What we know in Kenya, Malawi and Zambia. International Poverty Centre one-pager No. 67. Sept 2008. (Download PDF)
  • The Growth Report: Strategies for sustained growth and inclusive development. The World Bank, Commission on Growth and Development. June 2008. (Download PDF)
  • Aiyar SS, Ruthbah UH. Where did all the aid go? An empirical analysis of absorption and spending. Feb 2008. IMF Working Paper No. 08/34. (Abstract and link)
  • Letter from U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services to Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Mananging Director at IMF. Nov 2007. (Download PDF)
  • Does the IMF constrain health spending in poor countries? Evidence and an agenda for action. Report of the Working Group on IMF Programs and Health Spending. June 2007. (Download PDF)
  • Pollin R, Zhu A. Inflation and economic growth: A cross-country non-linear analysis. Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) Working Paper No. 109. Oct 2005. (Download PDF)
  • Economic growth in the 1990s: Learning from a decade of reform. The World Bank. May 2005. (Download PDFs of various sections of the paper )
  • International Monetary Fund: Few changes evident in design of new lending program for poor countries. Report to the Chairman, Committee on Foreign Relations, U.S. Senate. United States General Accounting Office GAO. May 2001. ( Download PDF)

Various studies exploring what level of inflation is “too high:”

  • Pollin and Zhu, 2005 (cited above). [Between 14-16% for MICs & LICs]
  • Fischer S. The Role of Macroeconomic Factors in Growth. Journal of Monetary Economics. 1993;32:45-66. [15-30%]
  • Bruno M. Does inflation really lower growth? Finance & Development.  Sept 1995;32(3):35-38. [cites a then-recent major World Bank study of the link between inflation and economic growth in 127 countries from 1960 to 1992 found that inflation rates below 20% had no obvious negative impacts for long-term economic growth rates.]
  • Barro RJ. Inflation and Economic Growth. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review.1996; 78:153-169. [Finds that an increase by 10 percentage points in the annual inflation rate is associated on impact with a decline by only 0.24 percentage points in the annual growth rate of GDP.]
  • Sarel M. Nonlinear effects of inflation on economic growth. IMF Staff Papers. 1996;43:199-215. [8%]
  • Bruno M, Easterly W.  Inflation crises and long-run growth. Journal of Monetary Economics. 1998;41:3-26. [40%]
  • Ghosh A, Phillips S.  Warning: Inflation may be harmful to your growth. IMF Staff Papers. 1998;45:672-710. [Finds inflation-growth relationship is convex, so that the decline in growth associated with an increase from 10% to 20% inflation is much larger than that associated with moving from 40% to 50% inflation.]
  • Khan MS, Senhadji AS. Threshold effects in the relation between inflation and growth. IMF Staff Papers. 2001;48:1-21. [Between 11-12% for developing countries; 1-3% for rich countries]
  • Gylfason T, Herbertsson TT. Does inflation matter for growth? Japan and the World Economy. 2001;13:405-428. [Between 10-20%]