The International Monetary Fund: Its Present Role in Historical Perspective

In this paper we describe what the IMF is and what it does. We consider its origins as the guardian of the Bretton Woods adjustable peg exchange rate system and financier of temporary current account deficits for advanced countries, to its present primary roles as development financier and crisis本文阐述了国际货币基金组织（International Monetary Fund，IMF）的定位与职能，梳理了其发展历程：从作为布雷顿森林可调整钉住汇率制度的守护者、为发达经济体临时经常账户赤字提供融资的起源阶段，到其当下的核心职能为发展融资提供者与危机。