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No Time to Stand Still: Strengthening Global Growth and Building Inclusive Economies

July 5, 2017

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

The port of Hamburg, Germany: G20 leaders meet to discuss policies to strengthen the global economic recovery (photo: Markus Lange/robertharding/Newscom)

Nearly sixty years ago, a little-known band called the Beatles arrived in Hamburg, got a haircut, recorded their first song, and found their sound.

Taking a cue from the Fab Four, world leaders gathering for the Group of Twenty Summit this week can make the most of their time in Hamburg—and leave Germany with a sound plan to strengthen global growth.

Continue reading “No Time to Stand Still: Strengthening Global Growth and Building Inclusive Economies” »

By IMFBlog| July 5th, 2017|Advanced Economies, aging, Asia, developing countries, Economic outlook, Economic research, Emerging Markets, G-20, Global Governance, inclusive growth, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, jobs, technology, U.S.|0 Comments

Assessing Global Imbalances: The Nuts and Bolts

By Maurice Obstfeld

June 26, 2017

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

Men playing chess: countries with rapidly aging populations need funds that they can draw down when their workers retire (photo: Caro/Jandke/Newscom)

Current account imbalances can be healthy or a sign of macroeconomic and financial stress—which makes their evaluation tricky. In line with its mandate of promoting international monetary cooperation, the IMF conducts annual external assessments for the world’s largest economies. The objective is to alert the global community to potential risks that countries need to address together.

Countries, like households, may spend above their incomes sometimes, and below them at other times. A country that spends above its income imports more goods and services than it exports and is said to have a current account deficit. It finances this deficit by incurring liabilities to the rest of the world, or by borrowing from it. Continue reading “Assessing Global Imbalances: The Nuts and Bolts” »

By IMFBlog| June 26th, 2017|capital markets, Economic outlook, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Global Governance, Globalization, inclusive growth, International Monetary Fund, Investment, labor markets, productivity|0 Comments

Looking Back to Move Ahead

By IMFBlog

June 16, 2017

Ian Goldin at IMF lecture (photo: IMF staff)

While advances in science and technology are rapidly propelling human achievement into the future, Ian Goldin says history shows us how to handle the changes occurring in the world today. Continue reading “Looking Back to Move Ahead” »

By IMFBlog| June 16th, 2017|Fiscal policy, Globalization, Government, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, technology|0 Comments

The Economics of Trust

By IMFBlog

May 10, 2017

Trust in other people—the glue that holds society together—is increasingly in short supply in the United States and Europe, and inequality may be the culprit.

In surveys over the past 40 years, the share of Americans who say that most people can be trusted has fallen to 33 percent from about 50 percent. The erosion of trust coincides with widening disparities in incomes. Continue reading “The Economics of Trust” »

By IMFBlog| May 10th, 2017|Advanced Economies, capital flows, capital markets, Economic research, Europe, inclusive growth, Inequality, jobs, labor markets, Politics, U.S., wages|0 Comments

Emerging Economy Consumers Drive Infrastructure Needs

By Paolo Mauro

May 4, 2017

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

The infrastructure needs of emerging market economies, like China or India, differ from those of advanced economies like the United States or Germany. Many emerging economies must substantially expand their energy and transportation networks, or build them from scratch, to accommodate rapid economic growth. Our research shows the more people make, the more they spend on transportation. With emerging economies’ middle classes booming and incomes rising, this has big implications for how policymakers choose to invest in infrastructure. Continue reading “Emerging Economy Consumers Drive Infrastructure Needs” »

By IMFBlog| May 4th, 2017|Advanced Economies, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Government, growth, IMF, infrastructure, Investment|0 Comments

Chart of the Week: Sharing the Fruits of Growth

By IMFBlog

At last week’s Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank, economists and policymakers discussed ways to maintain the momentum of the global economic expansion—while also ensuring that the fruits of growth are shared more widely within their countries. Fiscal policy—government’s ability to tax and spend—has an important role to play.

The effectiveness of fiscal policy in mitigating inequality varies widely by country, as seen in our Chart of the Week. The chart shows the redistribution effect of fiscal policy before and after taxes, as measured by the change in the Gini coefficient. A Gini of zero expresses perfect equality, while a Gini of one expresses maximum inequality. Continue reading “Chart of the Week: Sharing the Fruits of Growth” »

By IMFBlog| April 24th, 2017|Caribbean, developing countries, Economic outlook, Economic research, education, Emerging Markets, Employment, Fiscal, Fiscal policy, Government, growth, health, IMF, inclusive growth, income, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, jobs, labor force, labor markets, Spring Meetings, taxation, U.S., unemployment|0 Comments

With Global Financial Markets, How Much Control Do Countries Have Over Economic Policies?

By Selim Ali Elekdag and Gaston Gelos

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

The outlook for further interest-rate increases by the US Federal Reserve revives interest in a compelling question: In an increasingly integrated global financial system, how much control do countries outside of the US retain over their economic policies?

Continue reading “With Global Financial Markets, How Much Control Do Countries Have Over Economic Policies?” »

By IMFBlog| April 6th, 2017|Economic research, Financial markets, financial policy, Financial regulation, IMF, U.S., Uncategorized|0 Comments

Services Exports Open a New Path to Prosperity

By Prakash Loungani, Chris Papageorgiou, and Ke Wang

Versions in 中文 (Chinese), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), and Русский (Russian)

Services, which already account for 50 percent of world income and 70 percent of employment, are also becoming an important part of international trade. Services exports—accounting for nearly one fourth of total exports—have come to play a central role in the global economy, thanks in large part to advances in technology. Continue reading “Services Exports Open a New Path to Prosperity” »

By IMFBlog| April 5th, 2017|Advanced Economies, developing countries, Economic research, Employment, exports, growth, International Monetary Fund, jobs, trade, U.S., 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

OPEC’s Rebalancing Act

By Rabah Arezki and Akito Matsumoto

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

In November 2014, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to maintain output despite a perceived global glut of oil. The result was a steep decline in price.

Two years later, on November 30, 2016, the organization took a different tack and committed to a six-month, 1.2 million barrel a day (3.5 percent) reduction in OPEC crude oil output to 32.5 million barrels per day, effective in January 2017. The result was a small price increase and some price stability. Continue reading “OPEC’s Rebalancing Act” »

By IMFBlog| March 15th, 2017|Economic research, IMF, Investment, trade, Uncategorized|0 Comments

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