Bloc Voting - A New Voting System for the International Monetary Fund

Abstract

The international community needs the IMF to fulfill its purposes in monitoring the international financial system. However, the IMF does not satisfy the international community's expectations, because the IMF lacks good governance. After identifying and addressing three key questions regarding IMF governance, I propose that the IMF adopt bloc voting as a new decision-making system, which would require the acceptance of an amendment to the Articles of Agreement. The bloc voting system would create two sets of voting blocs - "econ blocs" and "regional blocs", and the IMF member countries would have to vote through voting blocs to make decisions. By accepting the bloc voting amendment, the IMF would satisfy the principles of participation, accountability, and effectiveness, thereby restoring good governance and fulfilling its purposes.