This week IMF governors will debate a change in members' quota shares--or voting power--that is meant to give China, India, and other developing countries more votes and thus a bigger stake in the fund's future. CGD president Nancy Birdsall thinks that the proposal falls short. Instead, she writes, the fund should opt for double-majority voting which would require that decisions be endorsed by both a majority of IMF member countries and a majority according to countries' voting weight. Birdsall argues that adopting this approach would restore the IMF's role as a legitimate and effective international forum on global financial issues.

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CGD senior fellow Steve Radelet provides an update on Liberia's recovery from civil war and progress towards debt relief in advance of a CGD speech on Friday by Liberian minister of finance Antoinette Sayeh. Want to assist in Liberia's reconstruction? Consider applying to become a Liberia Fellow, one of a select group of young professionals who work in government ministries in Monrovia for one year. A new call for applicants will be announced later this year.

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