By Rebecca Ray On Thursday, January 13, the Boston University Global Development Policy (GDP) Center and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Development Centre hosted a webinar discussion on the potential for using debt-for-climate swaps as an innovative solution to the twin crises of climate change and debt distress. The discussion consisted of […]
By Katie Gallogly-Swan On Friday, November 19, Rachel Thrasher, researcher and legal expert of the Boston University Global Development Policy Center hosted a conversation with Ha-Joon Chang, renowned economist and prolific author, including the landmark book, Kicking Away the Ladder: Development Strategy in Historical Context. The conversation centered on Thrasher’s new book, Constraining Development: the Shrinking […]
By Rebecca Ray The triple crisis of public health, the global economy, and climate change are looming for the world, but focusing their havoc on developing countries in particular. While low and middle-income countries (LMICs) have faced wave after wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic also made foreign capital and hard currency scarce, necessitating […]
By Natalia Marino On Thursday, June 10, the Boston University Global Development Policy Center hosted a webinar to discuss a new working paper analyzing the proposed EU-MERCOSUR free trade agreement (FTA), which has yet to take effect, but would represent the largest trade deal for both blocs in terms of number of citizens involved. Moderated […]
By Yaechan Lee The COVID-19 pandemic has increased fiscal pressure on a global scale. Advanced economies, have been able to cope with the new norm thanks to their relatively larger fiscal and policy space and are now anticipating a robust V-shaped economic recovery. Low-income countries (LICs) have been considered most financially vulnerable against this pressure […]
By Jake Werner A major crisis shakes a society, exerting pressure that aggravates existing cracks in its foundations and forces to the surface flaws that previously went largely unnoticed. A healthy response requires grappling with newly exposed dysfunctions and injustices and taking action to repair and heal the underlying causes. But those seeking such reforms […]
By Luma Ramos Latin America has been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As one of the most affected regions in the world in terms of infections, it also has been the most economically distressed region, with an estimated GDP contraction of approximately 7.7 percent in 2020. Recovering from this crisis will require Latin American […]
By Luma Ramos Amid the worst global recession since World War II, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) 2021 Spring Meetings debated the importance of incorporating green policies into the economic recovery. In her opening speech, the Fund’s Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva noted that the IMF has a strategic role to play in mitigating climate change, […]
Climate and environmental breakdown demand urgent and coordinated action across borders. Such action requires new global norms and rules that allow national autonomy while converging toward shared goals to deliver rising living standards for all people without further damaging our ecosystems. This will only happen by confronting and contesting the furies of hyper-globalization: the beneficiaries […]
As the only global institution tasked with preventing and mitigating global financial instability, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been called upon to play a crucial role in combatting the effects of two simultaneous crises: COVID-19 and climate change. Since the inception of the crisis, the IMF has provided strong global thought leadership in stressing […]