It is my pleasure to welcome you to this IMF Institute seminar, which over the next week offers you the opportunity to discuss in some detail the linkages between structural reform and macroeconomic stabilization. Perhaps the most logical place for me to begin is with the terms being used. Structural reform is a broad term that encompasses those policies aimed at improving market functioning, while macroeconomic stabilization has as its goals low inflation rates, high employment levels, a sustainable external position, and relatively calm financial markets. Recent experience and policy challenges in all parts of the world have demonstrated the interdependence of these two prerequisites to sustainable growth. For without macroeconomic stability, market signals are no longer clear, and restructuring is hampered by uncertainty. Conversely, a lack of structural reform undermines stabilization policies.
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