WHDAI Country Files

18371

1950-1990

series

textual records

92 linear feet of textual records.

English

Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, The, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Republica Bolivariana de

Series is open according to the Archives Access Policy. Files will be screened by reference staff for any time restrictions.

Series consists of the country files maintained by the WHD Immediate Office since its establishment in 1953; exceptions are Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico where files are dated from 1950., Records reflect all aspects of the Department's functions and activities, in particular the monitoring of economic, financial and political developments in member countries, the conducting of consultation missions and other missions related to the use of Fund resources, and coordinating technical assistance efforts in member countries. As a result, files reveal the work between the Western Hemisphere Department, its Divisions, and the functional Departments, thus providing a source of information for the IMF's activities and approaches in the Western Hemisphere member countries., Files are organized alphabetically according to country and chronologically within each file. There are also few files scattered throughout the collection with topics such as Press Clippings and Missions. Additionally, one-time occurrence files can be found on a variety of topics., Records consist of memoranda exchanged between the WHD Director and the Managing Director, Deputy Managing Director, Deputy Directors, Members of the Executive Board, Senior Advisors, Division Chiefs, and Department Heads; correspondence and cables exchanged within the Department, with IMF Resident Representatives (typically numbered letters on recent political and economic developments in the country), and with other technical assistance experts assigned to countries; external memoranda, letters, telexes, telegrams, and cables exchanged with country officials, Central Banks, commercial banks, the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), other regional and international organizations, and academic institutions; draft and final Executive Board Documents; minutes of meetings; reports; background notes, briefing papers; comments on drafts and final papers prepared by WHD or in collaboration with other departments; comments on documents prepared by other departments; documents issued by the World Bank and other international organizations; newspaper clippings, press releases, speeches, statements, and printed materials. The files also contain documents provided by the member countries such as recent economic and political developments in the country; decrees and legislations; and economic, financial, and fiscal data., Predominant are issues related to the use of gold, its convertibility into dollars and role in the international monetary system; membership admission; the determination and review of country quotas; currency designation; country monetary policy; country exchange rate regime; the adoption of a par value system of fixed exchange rates and, after the suspension of the convertibility of gold and collapse of the system, the adoption of floating exchange rates and the surveillance exercised by the IMF on the exchange rate policies of its members; technical assistance provided by the IMF through staff missions or assignment of experts; the Consultation missions and discussions held under Articles XIV & VIII (until 1977) and IV (from 1978) of the IMF's Articles of Agreement; and the use of resources under the IMF facilities and arrangements. Also, topics related to Annual Meetings; the Paris Club, and Consultative Group Meetings - with the participation of the World Bank and other donors, are present in the records.