International Monetary Fund (IMF)

One of the institutions set up after the Bretton Woods agreement of 1944. Its initial aim was to help countries suffering balance-of-payments crises. It is the international body that countries turn to when in financial difficulties. Its advice has often been controversial because of the perception that it imposes austerity on workers in order to benefit rich creditors. Its prescriptions in times of crisis, which include deregulation, privatisation and openness to international trade, have been dubbed the “Washington consensus” after the city where the IMF has its headquarters.