Digital Financial Inclusion in the Times of COVID-19
By Ulric Eriksson von Allmen, Purva Khera, Sumiko Ogawa, and Ratna Sahay
عربي, 中文, Español, Français, 日本語, Português, Русский
The COVID-19 pandemic could be a game changer for digital financial services. Low-income households and small firms can benefit greatly from advances in mobile money, fintech services, and online banking. […]
Keeping Economic Data Flowing During COVID-19
By Louis Marc Ducharme, James Tebrake, and Zaijin Zhan
عربي, 中文, Español, Français, 日本語, Português, Русский
Accurate and timely economic data are crucial for informing policy decisions, especially during a crisis. But the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the production of many key statistics. […]
Chart of the WeekTracking Trade During the COVID-19 Pandemic
By Diego Cerdeiro, Andras Komaromi, Yang Liu, and Mamoon Saeed
With the current fast-changing developments, policy makers need to know what is happening to the economy in real time, but they often must settle for data telling them what happened many weeks ago. […]
Propping Up the Chinese Economy: Credit versus Fiscal Stimulus
By Sophia Chen and Lev Ratnovski
December 13, 2017
Version in 中文 (Chinese), Español (Spanish), 日本語 (Japanese)
Construction work Qingyuan , Guangdong, China : Fiscal stimulus is a powerful tool for growth (photo: Imagine China/Newscom).
Credit booms are addictive. Credit supports growth and the perception of wealth. Yet credit booms are risky, and are often followed by financial busts and economic slowdowns. The challenge is taming credit without hurting growth. […]
Preventing The Next Catastrophe: Where Do We Stand?
Guest post by David Romer
University of California, Berkeley, and co-host of Rethinking Macro II: First Steps and Early Lessons
(Versions in 中文, 日本語, and Русский)
As I listened to the presentations and discussions, I found myself thinking about the conference from two perspectives. One is intellectual: Are we asking provocative questions? Are interesting ideas being proposed? Are we talking about important issues? By that standard, the conference was very successful: the discussion was extremely stimulating, and I learned a great deal.
The second perspective is practical: Where do we stand in terms of averting another financial and macroeconomic disaster? By that standard, unfortunately, I fear we are not doing nearly as well. As I will describe, my reading of the evidence is that the events of the past few years are not an aberration, but just the most extreme manifestation of a broader pattern. And the relatively modest changes of the type discussed at the conference, and that in some cases policymakers are putting into place, are helpful but unlikely to be enough to prevent future financial shocks from inflicting large economic […]
An Open and Diverse Economy To Benefit All Algerians
Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the IMF was in Algeria last week where she met with Algerians from all walks of life and discussed the country's priorities to generate more inclusive growth.
The Power of Cooperation
In an article in the new issue of Finance & Development magazine, President Bill Clinton shares his experience working with governments, business, and civil society as part of his Clinton Global Initiative. He says they are making the most progress in places where people have formed networks of creative cooperation where stakeholders come together to do things better, faster and cheaper than any could alone.
How to Exit the Danger Zone: IMF Update on Global Financial Stability
Many of the root causes of the euro area crisis still need to be addressed before the system is stabilized and returns to health. Until this is done, global financial stability is likely to remain well within the “danger zone,” where a misstep or failure to address underlying tensions could precipitate a global crisis with grave economic and financial consequences.
No Country is an Island: Ireland and the IMF
Speaking to the pain and anger of the Irish people at the toll the economic adjustment has taken on their daily lives, the IMF’s mission chief Ajai Chopra was clear during a press conference today in Dublin: the end goals is to protect the poor and most vulnerable people in society while restarting the economy.
The IMF along with the European Central Bank and the European Commission were in the emerald isle for the regular quarterly review of the government’s economic program.