Global Growth Plateaus as Economic Risks Materialize
October 9, 2018
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Uncertainty over trade policy is becoming a drag on economic activity (photo: Imagine China/Newscom)
The latest World Economic Outlook report projects that global growth will remain steady over 2018–19 at last year’s rate of 3.7 percent. This growth exceeds that achieved in any of the years between 2012 and 2016. It occurs as many economies have reached or are nearing full employment and as earlier deflationary fears have dissipated. Thus, policymakers still have an excellent opportunity to build resilience and implement growth-enhancing reforms.
Continue reading “Global Growth Plateaus as Economic Risks Materialize” »
Lasting Effects: The Global Economic Recovery 10 Years After the Crisis
By Wenjie Chen, Mico Mrkaic, and Malhar Nabar
October 3, 2018
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Woman cleaning in Berlin, Germany: the 2008 global financial crisis has had long-lasting effects on economic growth (photo: Caro/Olaf Jandke/Newscom)
In the year following the 2008 financial crisis, economic activity declined in half of all countries in the world. Our analysis in Chapter 2 of the October World Economic Outlook shows that in many countries output is still well below levels that would have prevailed had output followed its precrisis trend. Continue reading “Lasting Effects: The Global Economic Recovery 10 Years After the Crisis” »
A Decade After Lehman, the Financial System Is Safer. Now We Must Avoid Reform Fatigue
By Adolfo Barajas, Claudio Raddatz, and James P. Walsh
October 3, 2018
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A ticker in New York’s Times Square flashes the news of the collapse of Lehman Brothers on September 15, 2008: In the decade since, the financial sector has strengthened considerably, but the reform agenda remains incomplete (Photo: Joshua Lott/Reuters/Newscom)
In the decade since the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers sparked the most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression, regulation and supervision of the financial sector have been strengthened considerably. This has reduced the risk of another crisis, with all its attendant woes—unemployment, foreclosures, bankruptcies. But a new risk has emerged: reform fatigue. Continue reading “A Decade After Lehman, the Financial System Is Safer. Now We Must Avoid Reform Fatigue” »
Central Bank Credibility Pays Off in Times of Stress
By Rudolfs Bems, Francesca Caselli, Francesco Grigoli, Bertrand Gruss, and Weicheng Lian
October 3, 2018
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Shopping center in Warsaw, Poland: emerging market economies have been able to bring down inflation to a low level (photo: Caro/Bastian/Newscom)
Since the mid-2000s, inflation in emerging market economies has been remarkably low and stable, in sharp contrast to the 1990s. Continue reading “Central Bank Credibility Pays Off in Times of Stress” »
The Digital Accelerator: Revving Up Government in Asia
By Vitor Gaspar and Chang Yong Rhee
September 26, 2018
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A driver from the Malaysian ride-hailing tech startup, Grab, picks up a passenger in Jakarta, Indonesia: digitalization is transforming Asia’s businesses and governments (photo: Afif C. Kasuma/iStock by Getty Images)
Asia’s digital revolution shows no signs of slowing down. From e-commerce giants like China’s Alibaba and Japan’s Rakuten, to ride-hailing, and digital payment tech startups, like Indonesia’s Go-Jek and India’s Paytm, and the widespread use of industrial robots for manufacturing, digitalization is changing the way the region’s businesses operate. Continue reading “The Digital Accelerator: Revving Up Government in Asia” »
Chart of the Week: The Digital Divide in Asia
By IMFBlog
September 25, 2018
Young people on their phones in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia: about 70 percent of the country does not have internet access and can’t participate in the digital economy (Samrang Pring/Reuters/Newscom)
The countries of Southeast Asia are young—more than half of its 643 million people are under 30— and together they live in an economy of $2.8 trillion. Continue reading “Chart of the Week: The Digital Divide in Asia” »
Give Today’s Children a Chance
By Christine Lagarde and Vitor Gaspar
September 24, 2018
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Children in early childhood education in Indonesia: more money put into education helps countries achieve their Sustainable Development Goals (Photo: Ajun-Ally/Pacific Press/Newscom)
World leaders are gathering at the United Nations to discuss how to deliver on development for all that is economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable—“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,” and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Continue reading “Give Today’s Children a Chance” »
Chart of the Week: Inequality in China
September 20, 2018
A gardener outside a luxury auto showroom in Beijing. China has moved from being moderately unequal in 1990 to being one of the world’s most unequal countries (photo: Stephen Shaver/UPI/Newscom)
More than two decades of spectacular economic growth in China have raised incomes dramatically and lifted millions of people out of poverty. Continue reading “Chart of the Week: Inequality in China” »
Women in Finance: An Economic Case for Gender Equality
By Martin Čihák and Ratna Sahay
September 19, 2018
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A group of women attend an event in Sao Paolo to promote women’s participation in the financial sector: women account for 51% of borrowers in Brazil (Sebastio Mareira/Newscom)
Women are underrepresented at all levels of the global financial system, from depositors and borrowers to bank board members and regulators. Continue reading “Women in Finance: An Economic Case for Gender Equality” »
Asia Needs More Access to Financial Services to Grow
By Sarwat Jahan, Elena Loukoianova, Cormac Sullivan and Yongzheng Yang
September 18, 2018
A customer pays at a supermarket using her smartphone in Bangkok, Thailand: urban and rural areas in the region widely use mobile payment platforms to access financial services (photo: Li Mangmang Xinhua News Agency/Newscom)
In Asia, the world’s fastest-growing region, expanding access to financial services for more people will mean higher growth, as well as lower poverty and inequality. Continue reading “Asia Needs More Access to Financial Services to Grow” »
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