Babb and Buria: Mission Creep, Mission Push and Discretion in Sociological Perspective: The Case of IMF Conditionality

Babb, S, and A Buira. 2004. Mission Creep, Mission Push and Discretion in Sociological Perspective: The Case of IMF Conditionality. In , 24:8-9.

"A term that has gained popularity among World Bank and IMF critics is 'mission creep,' or the systematic shifting of organizational activities away from original mandates" (2).

"The IMF's original purpose as it was conceived in 1944 was to establish a code of conduct that would enhance economic cooperation, and avoid the 'beggar-the-neighbor' policies that led to the economic turbulence of the thirties. This code of conduct required members to establish par values...and to work toward lifting restrictions on past payments...Over time, however, the functions and activities of the Fund changed along with the introduction and expansion of 'conditionality'--the policy measures member countries must adopt in order to have access to the IMF's resources" (2).

Critics of the IMF point to this mission creep as being fundamentally problematic. However, these authors argue that it is not unique to the IMF. In fact, institutional sociologists have experienced the creeping kind of nature within institutions for some time. While institutions are created for a certain purpose, they certainly morph into their own entities that pursue their own ends irrespective of the reasons for their initial creation. In fact, these institutions become much more keenly interested in their own survival than anything that may tie them to their original mandate.

"This paper examines historical evidence of mission creep at the IMF, and explores the organizational dynamics that may have contributed to this process...Synthesizing this evidence, we describe and account for three separate phases in the expansion of conditionality: the establishment of fiscal and monetary conditions in the 1950s; the introduction o debt-related conditions in the 1970s; and the introduction of liberalizing, governance, and a host of other reforms since the 1980s.

"In contrast to these two first phases, we argue that the most recent phase has marked a significant break with the past. Whereas the first period in the Fund's evolution was associated with the development of standardized rules, this latest stage is linked to the rise of 'discretional conditionality:' the increased dependence of disbursements and lending arrangements on the judgments of Management and Staff, rather than on clear rules determined at the outset. We conclude that this reversal cannot be attributed primarily to internal bureaucratic factors, but rather responded to the demands of the Fund's most powerful organizational constituent: the US Treasury. Thus, 'mission push' seems to be the most accurate way of describing recent developments in IMF conditionality" (4).

The evidence for this is presented systematically. I will not document it here.