Chart of the WeekWhen the Night Lights Go On in Asia
By Jiaxiong Yao
It is often said that a picture is worth a thousand words. The value of a picture taken from space is a new metric we can use to measure economic growth and activity. (more…)
The Economics of Data
By Yan Carrière-Swallow and Vikram Haksar
Look around the global economy and you’ll see an American company developing the next generation of driverless cars, a Chinese financier extending loans to “mom-and-pop” stores that used to lack access to credit, and researchers at a Swiss pharmaceutical company developing a treatment for a chronic health condition. (more…)
Digital Currencies: The Rise of Stablecoins
By Tobias Adrian and Tommaso Mancini-Griffoli
A battle is raging for your wallet. New entrants want to occupy the space once used by paper bills or your debit card. (more…)
Chart of the WeekVoting on Gender Parity
Electoral violence occurs in many African countries. Tragically, thousands are killed and displaced during election cycles on the continent. (more…)
A Capital Market Union for Europe: Why It’s Needed and How to Get There
By Ashok Vir Bhatia, Srobona Mitra, and Anke Weber
When savers and firms invest and borrow beyond their national borders, they enjoy opportunities to diversify their portfolios and lower their funding costs, respectively. (more…)
New Index Tracks Trade Uncertainty Across the Globe
By Hites Ahir, Nicholas Bloom, and Davide Furceri
Rising trade uncertainty is cited as a driving factor for “sluggish global growth” in the current issue of the IMF’s World Economic Outlook, which describes the state of the world economy. (more…)
A Role for Financial and Monetary Policies in Climate Change Mitigation
By William Oman
July 2019 was the hottest month ever recorded on earth, with countries across the world experiencing record-breaking temperatures. (more…)
Illuminating Dark Corners of the Global Economy
This issue of Finance & Development reminds me of a Sufi parable. A woman sees a mystic searching for something outside his door. (more…)
