A third were actually poorer. Almost all were deeper in debt. Eighty-four countries have been borrowing from the fund for at least a decade. The main losers in a world without the fund would be the businesses that today lobby so heavily for it. Nor are the IMF's conditions ever enough.
Economic reform is a continuing process, yet the fund buys onlv one-time compliance.
What's more, as the IMF, backed by the U.S., piles international loan on international loan, it risks transferring instability from the foreign to the American domestic stage. Over the past two decades the IMF and other lenders have bailed out the Mexican economy four times, allowing the government to delay painful reforms. Significant elements of crony capitalism seem likely to survive in both Indonesia and South Korea as well. Fund supporters argue there's no alternative. Reliance on the market's invisible hand would also help shield reform efforts from domestic xenophobia.