Smart solution to Egypt’s urgent economic need
The point of an IMF agreement is to support a country’s finances as it performs surgery on its economy. It is emergency cash for the government to reduce debilitating budget and balance of payments deficits to spur long-term growth.
So it seems to me that since this is short-term support to enable short-term economic adjustments, then the broader population that is being asked to bear the brunt of the pain should be extended some short-term emergency help as well.
The IMF regularly inserts boilerplate sentences about providing social safety nets when it announces its programmes.
In Egypt’s case, it said: "About 1 per cent of GDP from fiscal savings will be directed to additional food subsidies and cash transfers to the elderly and poor families. Resources for social programmes such as school meals, subsidies for infant milk and children’s medicine, and vocational training for young people will also be preserved, and in the case of free school meals, greatly increased."