In 1944, officials from forty - five nations assembled for a historic meeting at Bretton Woods in the United States. Even though World War II was still going on, international monetary authorities and world leaders were planning for the future. They wanted to make provisions for the economic problems they expected to follow by the end of the war. These efforts resulted in the formation of the International Monetary Fund. The IMF attempts to encourage monetary cooperation, to promote excharige rate stability, and to plan international arrangements on ex- change rates. In addition, the Fund attempts to prevent competitive exchange rate reductions among its members. It also tries to eliminate or reduce any foreign exchange controls that slow down world trade. In order to attain these objectives, however, very large financial reserves are needed. The necessary reserves are obtained in the form. of deposits, which are required from each member when joining the Fund. The size of the deposit is known as the member's quota. The quota is the heart of the International Monetary Fund. The Fund authorities set the size of the quota. It is based on the economic importance of the country as shown by such indicators as populations, international trade, and GNP. Traditionally, the quota has been paid in a combination of gold and the member's own currency, with 25 percent in gold and the rest in currency. It is important because it determines the maximum amount that the member can draw out in times of difficulty. Sometimes new members have succeeded in reducing the quotas set by the IMF. They have usually regretted this decision when they later needed to withdraw large a- mounts from the Fund. Perhaps the main function of the IMF has been to help members with balance of payments problems so as to prevent a monetary crisis. For instance, a small country could experience storm, which greatly reduced its main export crop. Because of the considerable shortfall in ex- port, the country would earn much less foreign exchange than usual. As a result, there would be a current account deficit. Tile country could have difficulty in paying for essential imports, for its official reserves might not provide enough foreign exchange. Without help from abroad, the country could solve the payments problem in two ways. It could allow its currency to devalue because of the reduced international demand, or it could prevent the exchange rate from falling by using exchange control. Both of these methods seem too dramatic. However, because the country's problems are very short - term ones. Under these circumstances, the Compensatory Finance Facility can be used to obtain the necessary foreign exchange. The objectives of the IMF are ______.