Chart of the WeekWhere Are the World’s Fastest Roads?
High-speed roads that can carry goods to customers in far-off markets raise productivity, reduce poverty and are an important contributor to sustainable and inclusive economic development.
Chart of the WeekThe Crisis is Not Over, Keep Spending (Wisely)
By Oya Celasun, Lone Christiansen, and Margaux MacDonald
The pandemic-induced economic crisis is set to leave deep scars. Human capital erosion from prolonged high unemployment and school closures, value destruction from bankruptcies, and constraints on future fiscal policy from elevated public debt top the list. […]
Chart of the WeekSouth Africa: Bridging the Income Divide
By IMFBlog
South Africa suffers among the highest levels of inequality in the world. As our Chart of the Week shows, the country’s wealth is concentrated in the upper levels of society. The top 20 percent of the population holds over 68 percent of income, while the poorest 40 percent possess only 7 percent of income. […]
Widening Gaps: Regional Inequality within Advanced Economies
By John Bluedorn, Weicheng Lian, Natalija Novta, and Yannick Timmer
عربي, 中文, Español, Français, 日本語, Português, Русский
Differences in economic performance between regions within countries can be large and sometimes even larger than between countries. […]
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. […]
To Reduce Inequality, Employ Young People
Burcu Hacibedel and Priscilla Muthoora
Rising economic growth has reduced inequality in low-income and emerging market countries over the years. […]
Keynes, the IMF, and the Future
By Gita Bhatt
If Lord Keynes, who helped usher in the post–World War II economic order at the Bretton Woods conference, visited the IMF today, he would be astonished at the institution’s evolution. […]
Chart of the WeekYoung and Disconnected from Work
By IMFBlog
Young people face tough labor markets and job shortages in countries all over the world. For example, about 20 percent of 15- to 24-year-olds in the average emerging market and developing economy are neither in work nor in school—this group includes countries such as Brazil, Ghana, and Malaysia, among others. […]