Instead of only looking at one side, consider the IMF is mostly a lender of last resort. So when a country needs IMF help, it's IMF or likely even worse outcomes.

If you want a more accurate view, read research papers on google scholar. Here's papers on IMF from 2017 [1].

The short take is the IMF provides lots of help to ailing countries, saves some and loses some. Pop culture doesn't tend to spread news of the winners since spreading lopsided arguments sells more books and blog posts.

Google scholar is a much more balanced and accurate place.

[1] https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2017&q=imf&hl=en&a...

> consider the IMF is mostly a lender of last resort

Yep that's an important clarification indeed.

The IMF is a nation's last resort, like loan sharks would be a person's.

The documentaries referenced above seem to draw a picture of the IMF as a financial hit squad.

Haven't watched the Jamaica one yet, will schedule it for the weekend, but I'll be very surprised if it doesn't speak about a pattern of devastating IMF requirements similar to those documented in the others.

It's good that you know what's better for countries than the countries themselves. You should volunteer to help them.

If countries are in so much trouble they need the IMF they might not no better (or more likely, have the political options to do what is needed).

Yeah, I can see how you could frame it that way. But there is some basic context that is missing. Most policies used by the IMF are a result of a developing economy (country) wanting to be competitve on the international level and trade more. These loans are based on policies that dont work and are designed to put those countries into a form of servitude by struggling to repay debts (see import substitution).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Import_substitution_industri...

Another method is to build infrastructure and make it impossible to pay back the interest. The IMF works in concert with the World Bank.

This model of manipulation is the way you rule the empire now. Why fight wars that arent profitable when you can manipulate economies on a macro level.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confessions_of_an_Economic_H...

Here’s another one, “War by Other Means” by John Pilger:

https://youtu.be/9Pi1sHbXWXw

Also "Princes of the Yen", it mentions how IMF took advantage over Asia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-IZZxyb1GI

Great thank you. I am very interested in alternative ways to organize the global economy that are more equitable and fair so I appreciate the link.

I should also mention Naomi Klein's No Logo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeTgLKNb5R0

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_and_Debt

It would be good to find a review (positive or negative) of that movie by economists, not movie critics. Until then, call me a skeptic.

The ability to find genuine reviews by relevant experts in general would be nice.

'A Brief History of Neoliberalism' by David Harvey is also an excellent book on the subject.