Category: FINANCIAL STABILITY

GDP Center Roundup – IMF/World Bank Group Annual Meetings, 2023

By Sayuri Kataoka and Samantha Igo Policymakers are facing a critical inflection point: the window to act on climate change is rapidly closing, climate shocks and overwhelming debt service payments threaten to undo decades of progress and stymie future investments in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), while, concomitantly, the existing international financial system is […]

Counting on the International Monetary Fund: Aligning the IMF Quota System with Global Need

In December 2023, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is scheduled to conclude its 16th General Review of Quotas, a process required by the IMF’s Articles of Agreement. The IMF’s quota system is vital because it determines the financial contribution of member countries, the distribution of voting power at the Fund and access to financing mechanisms […]

Multilateral Development Banks Need to be Involved in Debt Relief Efforts – Here’s How It Would Work

By Marina Zucker-Marques With the worsening debt situation in developing countries, the ongoing debt relief negotiations within the Group of 20 (G20) Common Framework have been disappointing. Among many issues delaying debt negotiations (like domestic debt restructuring, sharing information on debt sustainability analysis and debt carrying capacity), the question of whether multilateral development banks (MDBs) […]

Debt Relief by Multilateral Lenders: Why, How and How Much?

As the sovereign debt crisis in the Global South continues to unfold, the lack of involvement of multilateral development banks (MDBs) in debt relief efforts has become a contentious issue among major creditors. Although the Group of 20 (G20) has explicitly called for MDBs to develop options to share the burden of debt relief efforts, […]

GDP Center Round-Up: G20 India Leaders’ Summit

By Claire Paul On September 9-10, the Group of 20 (G20) will meet in New Delhi, India for its Leaders’ Summit – a critical moment for world leaders as pressure for action on climate, the looming debt crisis, international architecture reform and capital resource mobilization – to name just a few key issues – mounts. […]

Debt Distress and Climate-Resilient Development in Sub-Saharan Africa

Due to multiple external shocks since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is facing acute debt distress and new highs in the cost of foreign capital. Concomitantly, the region needs to mobilize a stepwise level of financing to meet shared climate and development goals, under the Paris Agreement climate targets and the […]

Closing the Global Crisis Finance Gap: Why and How the IMF Should Address Weaknesses in the Global Financial Safety Net

Many low- and middle-income countries are struggling with deteriorating debt sustainability and external shocks, including the economic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s war in Ukraine and the tightening of monetary policy in advanced economies. Amid these developments, it is crucial to explore whether the world – and its most vulnerable countries – is well […]

Authority and Discretion Over Troubled Sovereign Debt: Who Has Voice?

By Leslie Elliott Armijo and Prateek Sood Global concern over the recent acrimonious debate surrounding raising the United States’ debt ceiling – and the tenuous relief following a long awaited agreement –  illustrates the US dollar’s centrality in the national and world economies. While there would be an enormous cost to the reputation and leadership […]

Webinar Summary – Kindleberger and the 21st Century

By Mridhu Khanna On Wednesday June 7, the Boston University Global Development Policy (GDP) Center hosted a webinar on “Kindleberger and the 21st Century” featuring Perry Mehrling, author of “Money and Empire: Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System” and Robert N. McCauley, co-author of eighth edition of “Manias, Panics and Crashes: A History of […]