IMF conference on poverty reduction opens Thursday

The International Monetary Fund's (IMF) conference on "Macroeconomic Policies and Poverty Reduction" will take place in Washington, DC, on 14-15 March 2002, the IMF announced. "The conference is expected to contribute both to scholarly and policy debate on topics at the intersection of macroeconomic and poverty issues," a statement from the IMF said. Main themes to be addressed include: aid effectiveness and debt burden in low-income countries; trade reform and inequality; the role of financial institutions in poverty reduction; the poverty and distributional consequences of financial crises and large shocks; and the politics of fiscal expenditures for the poor. Speakers will include scholars and researchers from the IMF, while a number of invited policy-makers and representatives of civil society organisations from around the world will attend and participate in discussions. The conference is open to the public; however, prior registration is necessary for security reasons. For more information, go to: http://www.imf.org