Lending Credibility or Globalizing Human Resource Management

Lending Credibility: The International Monetary Fund and the Post-Communist Transition

Author: Randall W Ston

With the end of the Cold War, the International Monetary Fund emerged as the most powerful international institution in history. But how much influence can the IMF exert over fiercely contested issues in domestic politics that affect the lives of millions? In Lending Credibility, Randall Stone develops the first systematic approach to answering this question. Deploying an arsenal of methods from a range of social sciences rarely combined, he mounts a forceful challenge to conventional wisdom. Focusing on the former Soviet bloc, Stone finds that the IMF is neither as powerful as some critics fear, nor as weak as others believe, but that the answer hinges on the complex factor of how much credibility it can muster from country to country.

Stone begins by building a formal, game-theoretic model of lending credibility, which he then subjects to sophisticated quantitative testing on original data from twenty-six countries over the 1990s. Next come detailed, interview-based case studies on negotiations between the IMF and Russia, Ukraine, Poland, and Bulgaria. Stone asserts that the IMF has exerted startling influence over economic policy in smaller countries, such as Poland and Bulgaria. However, where U.S. foreign policy interests come more heavily into play, as in Russia, the IMF cannot credibly commit to enforcing the loans-for-policy contract. This erodes its ability to facilitate enduring market reforms. Stone's context is the postcommunist transition in Europe and Asia, but his findings carry implications for IMF activities the world over.

Foreign Affairs

The IMF has come under heavy criticism in recent years for its inability to prevent financial crises and promote effective economic reforms. In a meticulous analysis, political scientist Stone addresses the role of the IMF in former communist countries making the transition to market economies. He sets out a game-theoretic framework involving national governments, the IMF, and international investors. This framework is closely argued but accessible and produces some surprising solutions. The model's predictions are generally born out by statistical tests. Fascinating and well-argued case studies of the interactions between the IMF and national officials are provided for Bulgaria, Poland, Russia, and Ukraine. A main finding is that countries especially important to the United States — such as Russia and Ukraine — violate IMF conditions more often but regain access to credit more quickly than do other countries; as a result, they have experienced worse economic performance. In other words, the IMF is more credible, hence more effective, when the United States is less engaged. It is a fine example of modern social science, although one can criticize it for exploring only monetary variables as measures of performance. Thus the study invites extension both to other variables and to other countries.

Interesting book: Corporate Governance or Transnational Civil Society

Globalizing Human Resource Management

Author: Paul Sparrow

As firms continue to become internationally minded, the role of international HR professionals is coming increasingly to the foreground of business. The realization that for success, companies must pay attention to foreign markets and competition is more widespread than ever. This book considers HRM in its global context, asking questions about what drives international HRM, how effective it is and how important it is for prosperity. Providing both a coherent overview of the field and a detailed practical analysis of modern management, this book is an important new addition to the HRM field. It draws upon current research from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development's Global Research Project and includes data, surveys and case-studies.

Table of Contents:

	List of Illustrations
	About the authors
	Foreword
	Preface
	Acknowledgments
1	Understanding the impact of globalization on the role of IHR professionals	1
2	Globalization and HRM	15
3	Organizational drivers of globalization	39
4	The impact of technology on global HRM	65
5	Knowledge management and global expertise networks	85
6	Developing global themes: capabilities, employer branding and talent management	110
7	Managing international mobility	129
8	Measuring the contribution of the corporate HR function	153
9	Developing global HR professionals	179
	Bibliography	198
	Index	221