This week, global economic leaders, policymakers and civil society representatives gathered in Washington, DC for the 2026 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group, marking a key moment to assess the state of the global economy and discuss a path forward in an increasingly uncertain world. The Spring Meetings […]
On the sidelines of the 2026 World Bank & International Monetary Fund (IMF) Spring Meetings, the Barbados Presidency of the Climate Vulnerable Forum–Vulnerable Twenty Group of Finance Ministers (CVF-V20) announced the launch of a new crisis funding mechanism for vulnerable countries—Lifeline. This financial arrangement between vulnerable countries will provide rapid and targeted liquidity support tailored […]
China has committed over US$1 trillion in overseas financing, much of it directed toward productive public assets that have helped close infrastructure gaps and stimulate economic growth. Nevertheless, a series of external shocks—largely unrelated to Chinese financing—have left many countries struggling to pay external debts or borrow at affordable terms. As the Belt and Road […]
The mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is to promote international financial stability through liquidity support, surveillance and capacity building. Emerging market and developing countries frequently turn to the IMF during balance-of-payments distress. IMF liquidity support comes with conditionalities that require borrowing countries to commit to a series of policy reforms. These conditionalities have […]
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) conducts periodic Reviews of Program Design and Conditionality (RoC), and it is currently undergoing the first review since 2018. These reviews analyze the performance of IMF programs in recent years and establish changes to the framework guiding future programs. IMF programs are designed to address balance-of-payments challenges, and countries must […]
International financial institutions (IFIs) are increasingly expected to support environmental and climate goals. Among them, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) plays a central role in shaping economic policy across much of the Global South through its lending programs. However, little systematic evidence exists of the environmental consequences of these programs, including their potential effects on […]
By Yan Wang The global economy in early 2026 is confronted with an escalating war in the Middle East causing humanitarian disasters and energy crises. On the economic front, although there is a consensus that the global imbalance is widening, solid evidence for the root causes of this imbalance is lacking. The IMF’s 2025 Article […]
China’s development finance institutions (DFIs), primarily the China Development Bank (CDB) and the Export–Import Bank of China (CHEXIM), have become central players in global infrastructure development. At the same time, China’s overseas infrastructure projects have come under scrutiny for their climate impact. A new report by Hanjie Wang, Cecilia Springer and Ali Hasanbeigi puts this […]
By Cecilia Springer, Hanjie Wang and Ali Hasanbeigi When a new railway line connects cities in East Africa or a power plant starts operating in South Asia, many tons of steel and cement quietly shape the structures behind the contracts and headlines. These carbon-intensive materials form the physical backbone of infrastructure financed by China’s development […]
By Rebecca Ray, Kevin P. Gallagher and Marina Zucker-Marques Once again, developing countries are experiencing shockwaves from a crisis they did not create. Since the US-Israel strikes on Iran began on February 28, global oil prices have skyrocketed, with consequences rippling far beyond the Middle East, impacting sovereign bond spreads across developing and emerging markets […]