International Monetary Fund and financial crises in the global economy

The rapidly evolving global economy as well as new challenges with economic and social implications make the problem of financial crises, including currency crises, extremely important in the current situation. Especially given the fact that the crises affect various countries and regions of the world. Serious currency crashes have occurred in developing countries with marked structural problems, but also in mature economies which possess fully developed market mechanisms and efficient systemic solutions. In addition, the severely destructive impact on the global financial balance and the scale of potential losses caused by such turbulences indicate that there is a need for a responsible and effective preventive policy on all decision-making levels. It seems that adequate responses and actions on the global level, in addition to actions simultaneously taken by regional organisations and by various countries themselves, can be a basis for creating conditions conducive both to the stabilisation of the entire global economy and to its sustainable growth. The aim of the present study is, therefore, to present a synthetic overview of the crucial qualitative features of currency crises, and to analyse the response of the International Monetary Fund – as one of the key international financial organisations – to the threats resulting from currency crunches. Numerous controversies surrounding the essence of currency crises as well as the functioning and activities of the IMF provide a substantive focus for the present analysis.