IMF Course on Managing Capital Flows

For the first time since 2019, the IMF course on Managing Capital Flows (MCF) took place in face-to-face format at the JVI from November 7-18. During the last two decades many countries from the JVI region have gone through booms and busts triggered by sizeable capital inflows and their sudden reversals. Therefore, MCF is always topical and in high demand and this year was no exception. With 26 participants from 18 countries this course became one of the best attended and most geographically diverse since the JVI’s post-pandemic reopening. 

An intensive two-weeks program focused on capital flows drivers and policies allowing countries to benefit from capital account liberalization while minimizing potentially adverse consequences of excessively volatile capital flows. What preconditions need to be in place for a country to start capital account liberalization? How to measure the degree of a country’s financial integration? What is the optimal mix of macroeconomic, macroprudential, and capital flow management measures in the face of capital inflow surges and sudden stops? The search for answers to these questions is at the heart of this course. 

The content of the course has evolved since the previous face-to-face delivery. Several new sessions – in particular, the latest IMF advice on capital flows management in line with the revised IMF Institutional View, capital flows at risk methodology, taxonomy of macroprudential and capital flow management measures – were added to the program. The face-to-face format provided numerous opportunities for group work and other forms of interaction. The participants worked on an in-depth analysis of major capital flow reversal episodes (crisis in Iceland in 2008, “taper tantrum” in 2013 , and COVID-19), developed policy advice for different countries confronted with the current global economic and financial turbulences and searched for an optimal pace of capital account liberalization in Uzbekistan. The competition between the teams during the Jeopardy game at the end of the course was very tight.

The very friendly atmosphere within the group and highly interactive format of lectures and workshops clearly illustrated the benefits of face-to-face training compared to virtual delivery. Visits to Vienna’s Christmas markets became a regular highlight of the participants’ evenings. 

The next MCF delivery is expected in November 2023. More details will soon be available in the course schedule for 2023.

Tatiana Evdokimova, Economist, JVI