Wide-ranging reform of the international monetary system is still needed to secure a well-balanced and sustainable recovery, and help prevent future crises, experts said at a panel discussion at the IMF in Washington, D.C.

The global recovery should not be an excuse to put reform on the backburner. “Global imbalances are back, with issues that worried us before the crisis—large and volatile capital flows, exchange rate pressures, rapidly growing excess reserves,” IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn said.

Concerns that the recovery is not yet delivering on much needed employment growth and equality were voiced by Strauss-Kahn and fellow panelist Kemal Dervis of the Brookings Institution at the February 10 event. “The world is doing reasonably well … but in terms of labor markets and employment there is a huge problem … almost everywhere,” Dervis said.

“Reforms to the international monetary system that help us get to the root of these imbalances could both bolster the recovery and strengthen the system’s ability to prevent future crises,” Strauss-Kahn told the 100-plus audience.