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Dominant Currencies and the Limits of Exchange Rate Flexibility
Faced with an unprecedented shock of collapsing global demand and commodity prices, capital outflows, major supply chain disruptions and a generalized drop in global trade, many emerging markets and developing economies’ (EMDEs) currencies…
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[INFOGRAPHICS] China’s Quarterly Growth Rate Overtime
China’s latest quarterly growth rate shows that the country has averted a recession in the first half of the year as real GDP growth rate printed at +3.2% in Q2’20 compared to -6.8%…
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Next Phase of the Crisis: Further Action Needed for a Resilient Recovery
When G20 finance ministers and central bank governors last met in April, the world was in the midst of the Great Lockdown forced by the outbreak of COVID-19. As they meet virtually this…
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Fiscal Policies for a Transformed World
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has already prompted an unprecedented fiscal policy response of close to $11 trillion worldwide. But with confirmed cases and fatalities still rising fast, policymakers will have to keep the…
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Venezuela: Can the Grass be Green Again?
Inflation rate in Venezuela has skyrocketed, moving an average figure of 21.07% in 2012 to as high as 65,374.08% in 2018 before moderating to c.15,000% in 2020. Hence, the venezuelan Bolivar has lost…
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Digital Financial Inclusion in the Times of COVID-19
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. Financial inclusion…
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Reopening from the Great Lockdown: Uneven and Uncertain Recovery
Compared to the April World Economic Outlook forecast, the IMF now projects a deeper recession in 2020 and a slower recovery in 2021. Global output is projected to decline by -4.9 percent in…
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The Great Lockdown Through a Global Lens
The Great Lockdown is expected to play out in three phases, first as countries enter the lockdown, then as they exit, and finally as they escape the lockdown when there is a medical…
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The Global Economic Reset- Promoting a More Inclusive Recovery
By Kristalina Georgieva The COVID-19 crisis is inflicting the most pain on those who are already most vulnerable. This calamity could lead to a significant rise in income inequality. And it could jeopardize…
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Cashing In: How to Make Negative Interest Rates Work
By Ruchir Agarwal and Signe Krogstrup, IMF Blog / Image Credit: IMF Many central banks reduced policy interest rates to zero during the global financial crisis to boost growth. Ten years later, interest rates remain low in…
