Cooperation with the IMF only exacerbates the decline of the Ukrainian economy. Economist Viktor Skarshevsky stated this at a conference in Kyiv, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Can the Ukrainian economy survive without IMF loans? Will be able. There is a lot of mythology about the IMF, their loans and importance. Statistics from 70 countries over 30 years show that the more loans the IMF gives, the deeper the economic decline. Even internal studies by IMF specialists show that if the IMF requirements are fully complied with, they lead to an additional decline in the economy. Because all their requirements are restrictive,” the expert said.
According to him, for Ukraine, foreign direct investment could be a good alternative to IMF loans, but they have fallen to the level of the late nineties of the last century.
“If we are talking about loans, then there is a very good alternative – foreign direct investment. When a country is in a cooperation program with the IMF, foreign direct investment is almost always at zero. Look at the 25-year history of cooperation with the IMF. Now foreign direct investment is also at the level of the late 90s. According to the National Bank, in the first half of the year foreign direct investment decreased by 30%. We need to think about development, and not about how to survive the next deficit cycle from election to election,” the economist said.