All the Way to the Top: Industrial Policy, Innovation, and Sustained Growth
By Reda Cherif and Fuad Hasanov
The odds of poor or middle-income countries achieving the stardom of the “Asian Miracles” within a generation or two, or even three, are small. Between 1960 and 2014, only 16 developing economies worldwide were able to vault into high-income status, and many of those were fortunate enough to have discovered oil or join the European Union. (more…)
Chart of the WeekEurope’s Wage-Price Puzzle
Does higher wage growth fuel inflation? In Europe, that has historically been the case. (more…)
Chart of the WeekThe Threat of Inequality of Opportunity
By Shekhar Aiyar and Christian Ebeke
There are clashing views on the relationship between income inequality and growth. (more…)
A Map of Inequality in Countries
By William Gbohoui, Raphael Lam, and Victor Lledo
Social and economic inequality between and within regions in countries is rising in many advanced economies and is now at the forefront of the policy debate because of perceptions that some people and places have been left behind. (more…)
Chart of the week The Global Informal Economy: Large but On The Decline
The informal economy, which is economic activity that falls outside the regulated economy and tax system, such as street vending or unregistered taxi drivers, is hard to measure. (more…)
Reform Doesn’t Have to Cost Votes
By Davide Furceri, Jonathan D. Ostry, and Chris Papageorgiou
Economic reforms are often painful in the short term and hence unpopular, but does that mean reform-minded leaders always pay a price at the ballot box? (more…)
Lower for Longer: Rising Vulnerabilities May Put Growth at Risk
By Tobias Adrian and Fabio Natalucci
عربي, 中文, Español, Français, Português, 日本語, Русский
The pace of global economic activity remains weak, and financial markets expect rates to stay lower for longer than anticipated in early 2019. (more…)
The Economic Cost of Devaluing “Women’s Work”
Kristalina Georgieva, Cristian Alonso, Era Dabla-Norris, and Kalpana Kochhar
عربي, 中文, Español, Français, 日本語, Português, Русский
As much as half of the world’s work is unpaid. And most of it is done by women. (more…)
Global Banks May Grow More Vulnerable to a Dollar Disruption
By Claudio Raddatz and Adolfo Barajas
عربي, 中文, Español, Français, 日本語, Português, Русский
When a Mexican airline buys Brazilian airplanes, it’s likely to finance the purchase with a US dollar loan obtained from a non-US bank. (more…)