IMF surveillance of member countries takes place mainly through the annual Article IV consultation with each member on the state of its economy. Article IV reports prepared by the staff are then discussed by the IMF's Executive Board. A member country can block the publication of the PIN, but cannot edit it except for market-sensitive material. Since their introduction a year and a half ago, an increasing percentage of countries have agreed to the publication of PINS with over two-thirds of countries now agreeing. Another important aspect of IMF surveillance has been its regular analyses of the global economy and capital markets, which are reflected in the long-published World Economic Outlook and the International Capital Markets Report .
Surveillance needs to be strengthened in two key respects.
First, the monitoring of international capital flows needs to be improved. This requires much better data than are now available. Until recently, the BIS data on short-term international capital flows were available only twice a year, with a six month lag. This meant that a foreign exchange crisis could arrive and depart well before these data would even have provided a warning sign. The BIS is now moving to quarterly data, with a one-month lag flows, but it would be preferable to have the data available monthly.