Slow-Healing Scars: The Pandemic’s Legacy
By Sonali Das and Philippe Wingender
عربي, 中文, Español, Français, 日本語, Português, Русский
Recessions wreak havoc and the damage is often long-lived. Businesses shut down, investment spending is cut, and people out of work can lose skills and motivation as the months stretch on. […]
How COVID-19 Will Increase Inequality in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies
By Gabriela Cugat and Futoshi Narita
عربي, 中文, Español, Français, 日本語, Português, Русский
Emerging markets and developing economies grew consistently in the two decades before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, allowing for much-needed gains in poverty reduction and life expectancy. The crisis now puts much of that progress at risk while further widening the gap between rich and poor.
Despite the pre-pandemic gains in poverty reduction and lifespans, many of these countries have struggled to reduce income inequality. At the same time, they saw persistently high shares of inactive youth (i.e., those not […]
Fiscal Policies For Women’s Economic Empowerment
By Stefania Fabrizio, Daniel Gurara and Lisa Kolovich
Making sure that opportunities to enter the workforce are fair and rewarding for women benefits everyone. Yet, the average female workforce participation rate across countries is still 20 percentage points lower than the male rate, largely because gender gaps in wages and access to opportunities, such as education, stubbornly persist. […]
New Data on World Debt: A Dive into Country Numbers
By Marialuz Moreno Badia and Paolo Dudine
The new update of the IMF’s Global Debt Database shows that total global debt (public plus private) reached US$188 trillion at the end of 2018, up by US$3 trillion when compared to 2017. […]
Chart of the week The Global Informal Economy: Large but On The Decline
The informal economy, which is economic activity that falls outside the regulated economy and tax system, such as street vending or unregistered taxi drivers, is hard to measure. […]
When Disaster Strikes: Preparing for Climate Change
By Seán Nolan and Krishna Srinivasan
Earlier this year, Cyclone Idai devastated Mozambique, Malawi, and Zimbabwe by leaving more than 1,000 people dead, thousands more missing, and damages in the billions. […]
Financing for Sustainable Development: Tackling Big Challenges
By Chris Lane
Without adequate financing, the best intentions of the global community expressed in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will remain beyond reach.