IMFBlog2018-07-17T14:20:38+00:00July 16, 2018|
July 16, 2018
Versions in عربي, Baˈhasa indoneˈsia, 中文, Español, Français, 日本語, Português, Русский
The escalation of trade tensions is the greatest near-term threat to global growth (photo: wildpixel/Getty Images by iStock)
Amid rising tensions over international trade, the broad global expansion that began roughly two years ago has plateaued and become less balanced. (more…)
IMFBlog2018-06-15T07:24:45+00:00June 15, 2018|
By IMFBlog
June 15, 2018
Lea Giménez Duarte, Paraguay’s Finance Minister speaking at IMF World-Bank Spring meetings seminar Restoring Trust by Curbing Corruption (photo: IMF)
Current Paraguayan Finance Minister Lea Giménez Duarte knows first-hand that transparency pays off. In this podcast, Duarte says the changes began after the government passed a transparency law in 2014. (more…)
IMFBlog2018-04-27T10:08:05+00:00April 22, 2018|
April 22, 2018
Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Español (Spanish), Français (French), baˈhasa indoneˈsia (Indonesian), 日本語 (Japanese), Português (Portuguese), Русский (Russian)
Anti-corruption strategies require broader regulatory and institutional reforms (photo: Kritchanut/iStock).
The IMF Executive Board has just endorsed a new framework for stepping up engagement on governance and corruption in our member countries. Let me talk about why this is important and what it means for our work.
IMFBlog2018-04-24T14:20:27+00:00April 17, 2018|
April 17, 2018
Versions in عربي (Arabic), baˈhasa indoneˈsia (Indonesian), 中文 (Chinese), Español (Spanish), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Português (Portuguese), Русский (Russian)
Container ship in Colombo, Sri Lanka: the recent escalating tensions over trade present a growing risk to the global economy (photo: STRINGER/REUTERS/Newscom).
The world economy continues to show broad-based momentum. Against that positive backdrop, the prospect of a similarly broad-based conflict over trade presents a jarring picture.
Three months ago, we updated our global growth forecast for this year and next substantially, to 3.9 percent in both years. That forecast is being borne out by continuing strong performance in the euro area, Japan, China, and the United States, all of which grew above expectations last year. We also project near-term improvements for several other emerging market and developing economies, including some recovery in commodity exporters. Continuing to power the world economy’s upswing are accelerations in investment and, notably, in trade. (more…)
IMFBlog2018-04-18T10:52:26+00:00April 13, 2018|
By Xavier Debrun, Luc Eyraud, Andrew Hodge, Victor Lledo, Catherine Pattillo, Abdelhak Senhadji
April 13, 2018
Versions in Español (Spanish), Français (French), Português (Portuguese)
The national debt clock in New York City: a fiscal rule, like the debt ceiling, should not be set too low or too high. (photo: Frances M. Roberts/Newscom)
Rules to contain lavish government deficits are most effective if countries design them to be simple, flexible, and enforceable in the face of changing economic circumstances.
In new analysis, we look at fiscal rules in over 90 countries and, based on their experiences, find that the rules put in the place over the last three decades often were too complex, overly rigid, and difficult to enforce. (more…)
IMFBlog2018-04-17T10:22:59+00:00April 12, 2018|
By Vitor Gaspar and Geneviève Verdier
April 12, 2018
Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Español (Spanish), 日本語 (Japanese), Português (Portuguese), Русский (Russian)
Traffic in Singapore: the city uses digital technology for road pricing to manage road congestion congestion (photo: Kua Chee Siong/ SPH/Newscom)..
In Rwanda, digitally-monitored drones deliver blood supplies to hospitals. In Estonia, it takes five minutes to file taxes and 99 percent of government services are available online. Singapore was the first city to implement electronic road pricing to manage congestion. The world is becoming digital, and reliable, timely, and accurate information is available at the push of a button. Governments are following suit, using digital tools for tax and expenditure policy, public financial management, and public service delivery. (more…)
IMFBlog2018-04-18T10:55:42+00:00April 10, 2018|
By Claudio Raddatz Kiefer and Jane Dokko
April, 10, 2018
Versions in عربي (Arabic); 中文 (Chinese), Español (Spanish), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Português (Portuguese)
Hong Kong viewed from Victoria Peak. House prices across countries and cities are increasingly moving in tandem (Photo: Fraser Hall/Robert Harding/Newscom).
If house prices are rising in Tokyo, are they also going up in London?
Increasingly, the answer is yes.
In recent decades, house prices around the world have shown a growing tendency to move in the same direction at the same time. What accounts for this phenomenon, and what are the implications for the world economy? These are questions that IMF economists explore in Chapter 3 of the latest Global Financial Stability Report. (more…)
IMFBlog2018-04-11T08:34:57+00:00April 9, 2018|
By Francesco Grigoli, Zsóka Kóczán, and Petia Topalova
April 9, 2018
Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Español (Spanish), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Português (Portuguese), Русский (Russian)
Aging may slow economic growth in advanced economies (photo: Zero Creatives Cultura/Newscom).
Population growth in advanced economies is slowing, life expectancy is rising, and the number of elderly people is soaring. Because older workers participate less in the labor market, the aging of the population could slow growth and, in many cases, threaten the sustainability of social security systems. But, as our research in Chapter 2 of the April 2018 World Economic Outlook shows, there is considerable scope for policies to mitigate the forces of aging by enabling those who are willing to work to do so. (more…)
IMFBlog2018-04-10T13:21:48+00:00April 9, 2018|
By Bertrand Gruss and Natalija Novta
April 9, 2018
Version in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Español (Spanish), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Português (Portuguese), Русский (Russian)
Textile manufacturing plant in Recife, Brazil: in many countries, the share of manufacturing jobs is declining (photo: Ingram Publishing/Newscom).
Manufacturing jobs are waning. In many emerging market and developing economies, workers are shifting from agriculture to services, bypassing the manufacturing sector. In advanced economies, the rise in service sector employment typically reflects the outright disappearance of manufacturing jobs. (more…)
IMFBlog2018-04-11T15:24:45+00:00April 9, 2018|
By Aqib Aslam, Johannes Eugster, Giang Ho, Florence Jaumotte, Carolina Osorio-Buitron, and Roberto Piazza
April 9, 2018
Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Español (Spanish), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Português (Portuguese), Русский (Russian)
Using artificial intelligence at a hospital in Qingdao, China: the spread of knowledge and technology between countries has intensified (photo: Sipa Asia/Sipa USA/Newscom).
It took 1,000 years for the invention of paper to spread from China to Europe. Nowadays, in a world that has become more integrated, innovations spread faster and through many channels.
Our research in Chapter 4 of the April 2018 World Economic Outlook takes a closer look at how technology travels between countries. We find that the spread of knowledge and technology across borders has intensified because of globalization. In emerging markets, the transfer of technology has helped to boost innovation and productivity even in the recent period of weak global productivity growth. (more…)
