Are the Critics Right?

A new study finds that public education and health spending get a boost when low-income countries receive IMF financial support
Schoolchildren in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

ONE of the most often repeated criticisms of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is that the economic reform programs it supports restrict social spending by governments. The main argument goes something like this: countries must cut public spending to meet budget targets that are too tight, which squeezes high-priority expenditures on education and health and in turn hurts the poor.

But the numbers paint a different picture.

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