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Chart of The WeekDon’t Worry, Be Happy

IMFBlog2019-02-20T12:27:54+00:00February 20, 2019|

By Sriram Balasubramanian and Paul Cashin

Perched in the eastern Himalayas between India and China and home to about 735,000 people, Bhutan is a unique country in terms of both its geography and society. It turns out that Bhutan also boasts a unique approach to policymaking. (more…)

Fintech in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Potential Game Changer

IMFBlog2019-02-14T11:59:32+00:00February 14, 2019|

By Amadou N. R. Sy

If you are reading this blog—drawn by current buzz around financial technology and the "fintech” reference in the title, and its promise to democratize financial services—then it is probably a safe bet to assume that you have heard of M-Pesa. (more…)

Let Bank Supervisors Do Their Jobs

IMFBlog2019-02-14T11:49:12+00:00February 13, 2019|

By Tobias Adrian and Aditya Narain

Español

Healthy banking sector. Healthy economy. So goes the thinking. Banks play a vital role in economic life—whether for individual consumers, or more broadly across an entire economy—and a strong and stable banking system is a matter of public concern. (more…)

Chart of the WeekChina’s Digital Dividend

IMFBlog2019-02-12T16:18:59+00:00February 6, 2019|

By Longmei Zhang and Sally Chen

中文

Digitalization has created millions of new jobs in China, accounting for between one-third and one-half of employment growth in the world’s second-largest economy. (more…)

Cashing In: How to Make Negative Interest Rates Work

IMFBlog2019-02-12T15:49:53+00:00February 5, 2019|

By Ruchir Agarwal and Signe Krogstrup

Español, Français, 日本語, Português

Many central banks reduced policy interest rates to zero during the global financial crisis to boost growth. (more…)

Chart of the WeekMind the Gap in SDG Financing

IMFBlog2019-02-05T11:56:46+00:00January 31, 2019|

by IMFBlog

Español, Português

Progress in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) hinges on countries’ ability to scale up spending in important areas like health, education and infrastructure. (more…)

Latin America and the Caribbean in 2019: A Moderate Expansion

IMFBlog2019-01-31T11:23:01+00:00January 25, 2019|

By Alejandro Werner

Español, Português

Economic activity in Latin America continues to rise, but at a slower rate than previously anticipated. (more…)

Unlimited Opportunities: Creating More Jobs for Young People in Emerging Market and Developing Economies

IMFBlog2019-01-23T15:29:21+00:00January 22, 2019|

By Christine Lagarde and John Bluedorn

عربي, 中文, Español,Français, 日本語, Português, Русский

“To define is to limit,” Oscar Wilde once said. But sometimes economists need to use definitions to see the scope of a problem and find ways to lift the limits to success. (more…)

A Weakening Global Expansion Amid Growing Risks

IMFBlog2019-01-21T10:05:47+00:00January 21, 2019|

By Gita Gopinath

عربي, 中文, Español, Français, 日本語, Português, Русский

While global growth in 2018 remained close to postcrisis highs, the global expansion is weakening and at a rate that is somewhat faster than expected. This update of the World Economic Outlook (WEO) projects global growth at 3.5 percent in 2019 and 3.6 percent in 2020, 0.2 and 0.1 percentage point below last October’s projections. (more…)