Fonds is open according to the Policy on Access to the IMF Archives. Files will be screened by reference staff for any time restrictions.
Scope and Content
The date span of the Jacques Jacobus Polak Papers overarches both his pre-IMF career and his eminent career in, and associated with, the International Monetary Fund. Polak kept these papers distinct from his official files (which were managed as part of the Research Department's Front Office records). Within the Papers are four series: Chronological files, Publications files, General files and Subject files which together reflect his wide spectrum of activities and influence in Post-World War II economics. The earliest files in each series, dated from 1930 through the 1950s, are either directly about, or provide context to, pioneering research that molded the basic economic approach of the International Monetary Fund. Here evidence is found of his work analysing balance of payments problems of countries and the conditionality aspect of IMF arrangements with countries. Some of the files include long date spans of material, for instance "Tinbergen Correspondence 1948 - 1986”, and “International Liquidity 1956 - 1963”. Most of the files hold several types of items, which can include: correspondence, memorandums, and attachments (documents or other reference material including publications).
