Global Financial Crisis

What We Have Seen and Learned 20 Years After the Asian Financial Crisis

July 13, 2017

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

A trader in Seoul, South Korea: Asia is the largest contributor to global growth (photo: Ryu Seung-il/Polaris/Newscom)

Asia today is the fastest-growing region in the world, and the largest contributor to global growth. It has six members of the Group of Twenty advanced and emerging economies, and its economic and social achievements are well recognized.

But 20 years ago, July 1997 marked the beginning of the Asian Financial Crisis, when a combination of economic, financial and corporate problems triggered a sharp loss of confidence and capital outflows from the region’s emerging market economies. The crisis began in Thailand on July 2, when the baht’s peg to the dollar was dropped, and eventually spread to Korea, Indonesia and other countries. Continue reading “What We Have Seen and Learned 20 Years After the Asian Financial Crisis” »

By IMFBlog| July 13th, 2017|Asia, banking, capital markets, currency, Economic Crisis, Emerging Markets, Financial Crisis, Financial markets, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Japan, Uncategorized|0 Comments

How Trade with China Boosts Productivity

By JaeBin Ahn and Romain Duval

May 24, 2017

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

Container port, Qingdao city, China. Trade with China has helped improve living standards in advanced economies through higher productivity (photo: Imagine China/Newscom)

Advocates of protectionist policies in advanced economies blame job losses on growing trade with China, and influential researchers have provided some empirical backing for their claims. Yet the benefits of trade with China are often overlooked. Among them is faster growth in productivity—the key driver of improved living standards. This suggests that rather than erecting new barriers to trade, advanced economies should continue to open up—while doing much more to help those who have lost their jobs to overseas competition. Continue reading “How Trade with China Boosts Productivity” »

By IMFBlog| May 24th, 2017|Advanced Economies, China, Economic research, exports, IMF, imports, Investment, jobs, trade, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Chart of the Week: Slowing Productivity: Why It Matters and What To Do

By IMFBlog

Output per worker and total factor productivity have slowed sharply over the past decade in most advanced economies and many emerging and developing countries.

Even before the global financial crisis, productivity growth showed signs of slowing in many advanced economies. But in the aftermath of the crisis, there was a further, abrupt deceleration. Continue reading “Chart of the Week: Slowing Productivity: Why It Matters and What To Do” »

By IMFBlog| April 3rd, 2017|Advanced Economies, developing countries, Economic research, Emerging Markets, financial policy, International Monetary Fund, productivity, structural reforms, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Why International Financial Cooperation Remains Essential

By Tobias Adrian and Maurice Obstfeld

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

Economic growth appears to be strengthening across the large economies, but that does not mean financial-sector regulation can now be relaxed. On the contrary, it remains more necessary than ever, as does international cooperation to ensure the safety and resilience of global capital markets. That is why the Group of Twenty (G20) finance ministers and central bank governors reiterated their support for continuing financial-sector reform at their meeting in Baden-Baden last week. Continue reading “Why International Financial Cooperation Remains Essential” »

By IMFBlog| March 23rd, 2017|banking, Financial Crisis, Financial regulation, G-20, International Monetary Fund, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Chart of the Week: The Productivity Puzzle

By iMFdirect

Technological change seems to be happening faster than ever. The prospect of driverless cars, robot lawyers, and 3D-printed human organs becoming commonplace suggests a new wave of technological progress. Continue reading “Chart of the Week: The Productivity Puzzle” »

By IMFBlog| March 13th, 2017|Advanced Economies, Economic research, growth, IMF, jobs, Uncategorized|0 Comments

What to Do about Growth

By Camilla Lund Andersen

Deep unease about rising inequality and stagnating living standards in advanced economies was at the heart of the 2016 political upheaval. Globalization and trade have been blamed, but entrenched slow growth—what economists call secular stagnation—may be the real culprit. Parents who took for granted that their children would enjoy a brighter future had their dreams dashed by the global financial crisis of 2008. Nine years later, rising populism and a return to nationalist, inward-looking policies threaten to unravel the postwar economic order. Continue reading “What to Do about Growth” »

By IMFBlog| February 28th, 2017|Advanced Economies, developing countries, Emerging Markets, Globalization, growth, IMF, Inequality|0 Comments

China’s Rebalancing Explained in 6 Charts

By Longmei Zhang

Version in 中文 (Chinese)

The word “rebalancing” is often used to describe China’s economic transition. But what does it mean? And how much is China rebalancing? A recent IMF paper attempts to answer these questions. Continue reading “China’s Rebalancing Explained in 6 Charts” »

By IMFBlog| September 6th, 2016|Advanced Economies, Asia, climate change, Financial markets, growth, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, Reform, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Five Lessons from a Review of Recent Crisis Programs

By Vivek Arora

Version in 中文 (Chinese), Español (Spanish)

IMF lending increased to unprecedented levels in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. As difficulties emerged, we extended financial support to countries across the world—in the euro area, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and emerging economies in Europe.

The IMF tried to draw lessons in real time as the crisis evolved in order to adapt our operations. We reviewed individual programs and, from time to time, paused and took stock of our experience across countries.

Continue reading “Five Lessons from a Review of Recent Crisis Programs” »

By IMFBlog| July 11th, 2016|Economic research, Financial Crisis, Fiscal policy, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Multilateral Cooperation, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Rethinking Policy at the IMF

By iMFdirect

The global financial crisis led to a broad rethink of macroeconomic and financial policies in the global academic and policy community. Eight months into the job as IMF Chief Economist, Maury Obstfeld reflects on the IMF’s role in this rethinking and in furthering economic and financial stability.

Continue reading “Rethinking Policy at the IMF” »

By IMFBlog| June 6th, 2016|Economic research, Financial Crisis, Fiscal policy, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Fiscal Costs of Hidden Deficits: Beware—When It Rains, It Pours

By Elva Bova, Marta Ruiz-Arranz, Frederik Toscani, and Elif Ture

(Version in Español)

Budgets can be full of surprises. And not always good ones. Often times, debt increases significantly because an unforeseen obligation materializes. These contingent liabilities, as they are known in the economist’s jargon, can have significant economic and fiscal costs. In fact, on many occasions, large and unexpected increases in debt across the world were due to the materialization of contingent liabilities. That is why they are often called hidden deficits.

Continue reading “Fiscal Costs of Hidden Deficits: Beware—When It Rains, It Pours” »

By IMFBlog| February 9th, 2016|Economic Crisis, Financial Crisis, Fiscal, IMF, International Monetary Fund|0 Comments

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