The Oxford Handbook of the International Monetary Fund was published in preparation for the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
Kathryn Lavelle, the Ellen and Dixon Long Professor in World Affairs in the Department of Political Science, wrote a chapter reviewing the U.S. as the indispensable member-state of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She wrote about how the institution needs the U.S. to ensure successful cooperation to stabilize the functioning of the world financial system. She argued there are three factors that distinguish the relationship of the U.S. with other members: separation of powers, location of the IMF in Washington, and position of the U.S. in the global political economy.