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This R&D provides resources on the International Monetary Fund (IMF).  The IMF’s chief function is to be a lender of last resort for indebted nation, but it also serves a role of trying to facilitate more global cooperation on trade and anti-poverty matters.  The IMF’s austerity recommendations have been criticized over the last several decades and The Economist explained on January 31 that the Fund’s capitalization is half of what it was in 2000.  The IMF is also waiting on the U.S. Congress to approve legislation that would increase America’s capital allocation to the Fund and thereby pave the way for a reallocation of votes within the body.