IMF Podcasts

In this third episode of Women in Economics, distinguished British economist Diane Coyle speaks with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe about how the lack of diversity within the economic profession is holding it back. Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge and author of several books, some of which challenge conventi…

It's been almost 2 years since the coronavirus began to disrupt economies across the globe. In this podcast, IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath asks Raghuram Rajan about inflation and his views on what Central Banks should be doing to minimize the damage caused by the pandemic. Rajan is a former Governor of the Bank of India and currently the Cather…

Despite two brutal COVID-19 waves and the widespread disruptions that ensued, India's economy is set to be one of the fastest-growing major economies for this year and beyond. Following a sharp contraction in GDP last year, India's latest outlook shows growth is expected to rebound to 9.5 percent this year and 8.5 percent in FY2022/23. Luis Breuer …

La planète reste aux prises avec une pandémie qui dure et avec une accélération des changements climatiques. Les solutions à ces défis internationaux doivent mobiliser tous les pays et toutes les régions, y compris l’Afrique subsaharienne, qui possède la population la moins vaccinée au monde et des écosystèmes critiques. La croissance de la région…

The world remains in the grip of the pandemic and a seemingly accelerating pace of climate change. Solutions to these global problems must involve all countries and regions, especially sub-Saharan Africa, with the world’s least vaccinated population and critical ecosystems. Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy is set to expand by 3.7 percent in 2021 and 3.…

The Women in Economics series showcases extraordinary work by extraordinary women in a field dominated by men. In this second episode, journalist Rhoda Metcalfe speaks with Jayati Ghosh, Professor of Economics at University of Massachusetts Amherst, whose work on gender issues and the public value of care work gives voice to the unpaid caregivers w…

While the World Economic Outlook shows output in advanced economies set to exceed pre-pandemic levels next year, prospects for low-income countries and emerging markets have darkened considerably due to vaccine shortages and limited support. Overall, the outlook's global growth projection for 2021 has been revised down marginally to 5.9 percent and…

The latest Global Financial Stability Report takes a close look at how recent supply chain disruptions, wage pressures and inflation might compromise the stability of the global financial system. Fabio Natalucci is Deputy Director of the Monetary and Capital Markets Department and heads the GFSR. In this podcast, he says while risks have been conta…

The crypto ecosystem is growing fast because there are a number of potential benefits to adopting crypto assets, like making payments and financial services cheaper, faster and accessible to more people. But the rapid growth and increasing adoption of crypto assets are posing new challenges to financial stability. Analysis in the latest Global Fina…

Inflation has not been much of a concern since the 70s when exogenous oil shocks were widely seen to have caused the phenomenon known as stagflation. But given the uncertain nature of the pandemic recovery, inflation is now on the rise and once again on everyone's mind. Analysis in the latest World Economic Outlook explores today's inflation landsc…

Most economists would agree a carbon tax is a powerful tool in fighting climate change, but carbon pricing alone is not enough. As green technologies evolve and prices fall, the fight against climate change will need a more nuanced plan of attack where people can actually afford to do the right thing. In this podcast, journalist Rhoda Metcalfe talk…

This is the first in a series of IMF podcasts that will showcase extraordinary work by extraordinary women in economics. In this episode, Dr. Lisa Cook, speaks with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe about her work using data on lynching and racial violence in the US to study the impact of violence on innovation and economic growth. Cook has made her mark n…

Nature is often missing in economic models, but in a study commissioned by the UK government, Partha Dasgupta examines the economic benefits of biodiversity and the costs of losing it. Dasgupta is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Cambridge, and his 600-page study titled the Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review sets out…

There's been a shift in the economic understanding of climate change of late. Climate action, once believed a trade-off to economic growth, is now seen by many economists as an opportunity to drive innovation and increase efficiency. After almost a decade at the World Resources Institute, Andrew Steer is now President and CEO of the Bezos Earth Fun…

When it comes to cooperation, humans and chimpanzees still have much in common. Perhaps that's not surprising given humans share over 98 percent of our DNA with chimps. But in a recent article in Finance and Development, economist Ruchir Agarwal argues the 2 percent genetic difference propels humanity’s success, but also its potential for disaster.…

As climate change looms ever larger, most economists agree that a carbon tax would go a long way toward reducing emissions. But carbon taxes and related policies often face deep political constraints, and many are looking at sustainable investing as a way forward. Economist Divya Kirti is coauthor along with Dalya Elmalt and Deniz Igan of a working…

Special Drawing Rights (SDR) are international reserve assets and used as the accounting unit for IMF transactions with its member countries. Earlier this month, in a historic multilateral response to the pandemic, the IMF board of governors approved a new SDR allocation of $650 billion, the largest in the institution's history. Ceyla Pazarbasioglu…

Inclusion doesn't just happen; it takes policies that intentionally serve the very specific purpose of ensuring inclusion. That is the focus of Rohini Pande's work these days as the Director of Yale's Economic Growth Center. Pande is one of the most influential development economists of her generation, always looking for ways for the poor to increa…

60 percent of the working-age population worldwide operates in the informal sector. A new book titled The Global Informal Workforce, Priorities for Inclusive Growth uses IMF research to study the causes and effects of the high levels of informality in economies across the globe. The book covers interactions between the informal economy, labor and p…

Capacity development is one of the IMF's best-kept secrets. Strong institutions are key to a country's long-term development, and a third of the IMF's operating budget goes toward helping governments build the institutional capacity they need to fulfill their development goals. Oral Williams heads the IMF Regional Capacity Development Center for An…

No country has been spared the effects of changing weather patterns but developing countries–and island states, in particular, are facing the brunt of climate change while not having contributed to its root causes. Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, and Madagascar's Finance Minister, Richard Randriamandranto, joined IMF Managing Director Kris…

With public finances stretched to the limit and the pandemic making things worse by the day, new IMF research looks at innovative ways to get the private sector more involved in financing Africa's development needs. Economist Luc Eyraud led the research. In this podcast, he says while fixing the business environment is a good place to start, someti…

There will be no durable end to the economic crisis until enough people around the world are vaccinated against Covid-19 and its variants to put the health crisis behind us. Economist Ruchir Agarwal and IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath have joined forces to come up with a plan that would make that happen. In this podcast, Agarwal says the return o…

When the apartheid regime ceded power following South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994, the economy was in shambles. Debt service costs as a share of GDP were crippling. Trevor Manuel—a veteran of the anti-apartheid struggle and appointed minister of finance—revamped the budgeting process and set a stringent deficit reduction target. By …

Covid-19 has left government budgets across the globe scrambling for revenues and having to reassess their tax and spending policies. For some countries– especially those in conflict areas, spending on defense eats up precious resources that could otherwise go toward other forms of public spending like education, health and infrastructure. In this …

Society has long debated the morality of debt. In ancient times, debt was viewed in many cultures as sinful, with lending at interest especially repugnant. These concerns continue to influence perceptions of lending and the regulation of credit markets today. Nikita Aggarwal is a research associate at the Digital Ethics Lab at Oxford University's I…

New IMF research shows that women with young children, mothers, particularly less educated ones, have been the most adversely affected group during the pandemic. Chrystia Freeland is Canada's Deputy Prime Minister and its first-ever female Finance Minister. In this podcast, Freeland and IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, discuss policies …

Before the pandemic hit, 80 percent of corporate wealth was held by the top 10 percent of large companies richest in intangible assets like data, software, and intellectual property. In this podcast, Rana Foroohar says the concentration of wealth and power among Big Tech firms has grown exponentially over the course of the pandemic. Foroohar is Glo…

S'il existe des signes de reprise dans les économies avancées, l'Afrique subsaharienne est toujours en proie à une crise sanitaire et économique sans précédent. La deuxième vague d'infections au COVID-19 était pire que la première et les pays se préparent à plus, alors que l'accès aux vaccins est au mieux limité. La plupart des pays africains auron…

While there are signs of a recovery in advanced economies, sub-Saharan Africa is still in the throes of an unprecedented health and economic crisis. The second wave of COVID-19 infections was worse than the first and countries are bracing for more, while access to vaccines is scant at best. Most African countries will be struggling to vaccinate ess…

Debt levels in many countries were high when the pandemic hit. But today, global public debt is reaching 100 percent of GDP. In this podcast, we hear a panel discussion about the very real danger for some countries of falling into a debt trap. The seminar was held during the 2021 IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings and featured IMF Managing Director, Kr…

Global prospects are looking better one year into the pandemic, albeit highly uncertain. The latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) places growth at 6% for 2021, compared to 2020's unprecedented contraction of -3.3%. But recovery is by and large vaccine-dependent and the lack of access to vaccines is making recovery hard to imagine for some countries,…

While emerging markets suffered huge portfolio outflows at the beginning of the pandemic, the latest Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) shows capital flows have returned and the outlook continues to improve, partly because of low interest rates in countries such as the United States. The new report takes a close look at the possibility of ris…

More than a year into the COVID-19 crisis, signs of a recovery for some countries are slowly beginning to emerge. But in her customary curtain-raiser speech ahead of next week's virtual IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said high uncertainty is one of the greatest dangers facing the global economy. Go to IMF…

2020 was a record-breaking year for housing markets in many countries- including the US, but for the commercial real estate sector, it was a completely different story. Lockdown and containment measures severely affected economic activity, pushing down commercial property transactions and prices in cities around the world. A new analytical chapter …

Public policy plays an important role in the recovery from the pandemic, but private sector innovation and agility can make a big difference on many counts. In this episode, Alphabet and Google CFO Ruth Porat talks with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and David Miliband, Chief Executive Officer of the International Rescue Committee, on G…

Earlier this month, AFRODAD's Jason Braganza was invited to participate in the IMF and European Commission's annual African Fiscal Forum, where Finance Ministers, heads of international agencies, and development partners discussed ways to support African economies through the pandemic. In this podcast, Braganza says countries need more fiscal space…

Corporate market power has been on the rise in recent decades, but a new IMF study shows the pandemic has strengthened price markups for dominant firms and increased the concentration of revenues among the biggest players in sectors such as technology and pharma. The Brookings Institution and Bruegel hosted a conversation with Kristalina Georgieva,…

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva and US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen celebrate International Women's day with a conversation about the advancement of women in the field of economics. Transcript Watch the webcast HEREPar IMF Podcasts

There are talented people everywhere, with ideas that could make the world a better place to live in. But what does it take for a promising young innovator to reach their full potential? In this podcast, IMF economist Ruchir Agarwal says global scientific output could be more than 40 percent higher if talented youth around the world had equal oppor…

Economists have long studied economic migration between rich and poor countries, but India's large population and significant divergence in per capita incomes between its rich and poor states make it an interesting case study on the implications of economic migration within a fast-growing emerging economy. In this podcast, economists Prakash Lounga…

The pandemic has proven in no uncertain terms that people and institutions need to adapt to change. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva was invited by the Albright Institute of Global Affairs at Wellesley College to discuss how the Fund is adapting to the current needs of the global economy and the extent to which the institution has had to …

Global disparities between women and men have narrowed over the twentieth century but despite the strong evidence of the benefits of closing the gender gap, progress has been slow in many parts of the world. Dr Alice Evans has studied women movements across the globe and written extensively on the topic. She was invited by the IMF Africa Department…

With the great strides in financial technology in recent years, the lower data processing costs and fees associated with investing in the stock market should have led to broader increases of household wealth. But in this podcast, economist Roxana Mihet says while fintech has reduced barriers to access and held out the promise of gains for all, it m…

Many things can happen within the global financial system to disrupt financial stability, and the pandemic is testing most of them. Fabio Natalucci heads the IMF's Global Financial Stability Report, which analyses trends in the world economy and looks for potential vulnerabilities. The latest update identifies the uneven distribution of vaccines ac…

Artificial intelligence and robots are revolutionizing production processes across the globe, but what countries stand to gain most from these new technologies? Economists Andy Berg and Chris Papageorgiou are coauthors of a new study that suggests the so-called AI revolution may widen the gap between rich and poor countries. Transcript Read the blo…

Since the Industrial Revolution began more than 250 years ago- the world has produced enough wealth for every one of its 8 billion people to live comfortably. Yet, over 40 percent live in poverty, with most of the wealth being held by an increasingly narrow slice of the population. Binyamin Appelbaum says rising inequality is weighing on growth and…

Tourism, hospitality, and other contact-intensive sectors with higher shares of female workers came to a dead stop shortly after Covid-19 infections started to spread. But as the labor market readjusts to the new work environment, a new study using real-time data on job listings reveals women–across all sectors, continue to drop out of the workforc…

The global pandemic has caused millions of people to lose their jobs and is widening the gap between white-collar workers who can work from home and those who don’t have the skills or resources to participate in a digitally-driven economy. And with robots and automation on the rise, COVID-19 appears to have ushered in a new normal for the global wo…

Covid-19 has shown the important role that data and statistics play in assessing the disruptions caused by the pandemic–economic and otherwise–and implementing measures to mitigate its impact. The IMF's Statistics Department brings together leading thinkers in the world of data in its annual Statistical Forum. This year, Ian Goldin was invited to g…