Debt | IMF Blog

Rising Household Debt: What It Means for Growth and Stability

October 3, 2017

Versions عربي (Arabic), Español (Spanish), Français (French), 日本語 , (Japanese), Русский (Russian)

Household debt, including mortgage debt, has been on the rise since the global financial crisis (photo: Louoates/iStock).

Debt greases the wheels of the economy. It allows individuals to make big investments today–like buying a house or going to college – by pledging some of their future earnings.

That’s all fine in theory. But as the global financial crisis showed, rapid growth in household debt – especially mortgages – can be dangerous. Continue reading “Rising Household Debt: What It Means for Growth and Stability” »

By IMFBlog| October 3rd, 2017|Advanced Economies, banking, capital markets, commodities, Debt Relief, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Globalization, housing, IMF, interest rates, International Monetary Fund, Investment, Public debt, unemployment|

The Case for Fiscal Policy to Support Structural Reforms

By Angana Banerji, Era Dabla-Norris, Romain Duval, and Davide Furceri

Versions in 中文 (Chinese), Français (French),Deutsch (German), Русский (Russian), and Español (Spanish)

Many advanced countries need structural reforms to make their economies more productive and raise long-term living standards. Our new research shows that provided countries can afford it, fiscal policy, through spending or tax incentives, can help governments overcome some obstacles to the reforms, particularly in the early stages. Continue reading “The Case for Fiscal Policy to Support Structural Reforms” »

By IMFBlog| March 13th, 2017|Advanced Economies, Fiscal policy, International Monetary Fund, labor markets, structural reforms, Uncategorized|

What the Fed Rate Rise Means for Corporate Debt in Emerging Markets

By Adrian Alter and Selim Elekdag

Versions in عربي (Arabic), and Español (Spanish)

In December 2016, the U.S. Fed raised interest rates for the first time in a year, and said they planned more increases in 2017. Emerging market currencies took a bit of a dive, but overall investors didn’t overreact and run for the doors with their money. For the bigger picture, you can read IMF Chief Economist Maurice Obstfeld’s blog that outlines how the U.S. election and Fed decision will impact the global economy. Continue reading “What the Fed Rate Rise Means for Corporate Debt in Emerging Markets” »

By IMFBlog| January 9th, 2017|Emerging Markets, International Monetary Fund, monetary policy|

The IMF is Not Asking Greece for More Austerity

By Maurice Obstfeld and Poul M. Thomsen

Versions in عربي (Arabic); Français (French); Deutsch (German); ελληνικά (Greek); and Español (Spanish)

Greece is once again in the headlines as discussions for the second review of its European Stability Mechanism (ESM) program are gaining pace. Unfortunately, the discussions have also spurred some misinformation about the role and the views of the IMF. Above all, the IMF is being criticized for demanding more fiscal austerity, in particular for making this a condition for urgently needed debt relief. This is not true, and clarifications are in order. Continue reading “The IMF is Not Asking Greece for More Austerity” »

By IMFBlog| December 12th, 2016|Debt Relief, Fiscal policy, IMF, International Monetary Fund|

Can Raising Japan’s Minimum Wage Accelerate Wage Growth?

By Luc Everaert and Giovanni Ganelli

Version in 日本語 (Japanese)

Japan’s minimum wage is 798 JPY ($6.52) per hour, lower than many other advanced countries, including the United States, and among the lowest relative to the average wage (see chart). For a country that needs consumers to boost spending to pull the economy out of 15 years of deflation and reinvigorate growth, a hike in wages across the board can go a long way. Continue reading “Can Raising Japan’s Minimum Wage Accelerate Wage Growth?” »

By IMFBlog| November 28th, 2016|Economic research, Employment, Financial markets, Fiscal policy, IMF, International Monetary Fund, structural reforms|

Fixing the Great Distortion: How to Undo the Tax Bias Toward Debt Finance

By Ruud de Mooij, Michael Keen, and Alexander Tieman

“The Great Distortion.” That’s what The Economist, in its cover story of May 2015¸ called the systematic tax advantage of debt over equity that is found in almost every tax system.

This “debt bias” is now widely recognized as a real risk to economic stability. A new IMF study argues that it needs to feature more prominently on tax reform agendas; it also sets out options for how to do that.

Continue reading “Fixing the Great Distortion: How to Undo the Tax Bias Toward Debt Finance” »

By IMFBlog| November 10th, 2016|Economic research, Finance, Fiscal policy, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Public debt|

Warning Signs as Global Financial Risks Increase

By José Viñals

Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Русский (Russian), and Español (Spanish)

Over the last six months, global financial stability risks increased as a result of the following developments:

First, macroeconomic risks have risen, reflecting a weaker and more uncertain outlook for growth and inflation, and more subdued sentiment. These risks were highlighted yesterday at the World Economic Outlook press conference.

Second, falling commodity prices and concerns about China’s economy have put pressure on emerging markets and advanced economy credit markets.

Finally, confidence in policy traction has slipped, amid concerns about the ability of overburdened monetary policies to offset the impact of higher economic and political risks.

Continue reading “Warning Signs as Global Financial Risks Increase” »

By IMFBlog| April 13th, 2016|Advanced Economies, euro zone, Finance, Financial markets, IMF, International Monetary Fund, oil, U.S.|

Japan: Time to Load a Fourth Arrow—Wage Increases

By Luc Everaert and Giovanni Ganelli

(Version in 日本語)

Everybody agrees: wages need to grow if Japan is to make a definite escape from deflation. Full- time wages have increased by a mere 0.3 percent since 1995! For example, despite its record profits, Toyota increased its base salary only by 1.1 percent last year. The average of 219 Keidanren firms managed just 0.44 percent. Clearly, an increase in base wages, colloquially referred to as “base up”, is long overdue.

Continue reading “Japan: Time to Load a Fourth Arrow—Wage Increases” »

By IMFBlog| March 13th, 2016|Financial markets, Fiscal policy, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Reform|

Greece: Toward a Workable Program

poul-thomsen1 By Poul M. Thomsen

Versions in عربي (Arabic), Español, Français, and ελληνικά (Greek)

Having successfully pulled Greece from the brink last summer and subsequently stabilized the economy, the government of Alexis Tsipras is now discussing with its European partners and the IMF a comprehensive multi-year program that can secure a lasting recovery and make debt sustainable. While discussions continue, there have been some misperceptions about the International Monetary Fund’s views and role in the process. I thought it would be useful to clarify issues.

Continue reading “Greece: Toward a Workable Program” »

By IMFBlog| February 11th, 2016|Debt Relief, Government, IMF, International Monetary Fund|

Bad Debt in Emerging Markets: Still Early Days

by John Caparusso, Yingyuan Chen, Evan Papageorgiou and Shamir Tanna

(Versions in 中文, Português, Русский, and Español)

Emerging markets have had a great run. The fifteen largest emerging market economies grew by 48% from 2009 to 2014, a period when the Group of Twenty economies collectively expanded by 6%.

How did emerging markets sustain this growth? In part, they drew upon bank lending to drive corporate credit expansion, strong earnings, and low defaults. This credit boom, combined with falling commodity prices and foreign currency borrowing, now leaves emerging market firms vulnerable and financial sectors under stress, as we discuss in the latest Global Financial Stability Report.

Continue reading “Bad Debt in Emerging Markets: Still Early Days” »

By IMFBlog| November 9th, 2015|Economic Crisis, Economic outlook, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Financial Crisis, Fiscal policy, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Reform|

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