By Yaechan Lee Financial globalization under the dollar-based structure of the international monetary system is increasingly demanding more proactive policy actions from central banks to prepare against potential capital outflow as investors make the dash for the dollar during financial crises. During the COVID-19 crisis, research finds that even the central banks of developing economies […]
South Africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world, with clear race and gender factors seeming to play a major and increasing role in soaring wealth inequality and income inequality. Upon a closer look at inequality, there is a strong relationship between the size distribution of households and sectoral inequality. The link […]
Embedded in the foreign exchange (FX) market is huge, unseen dollar borrowing. In an FX swap, for instance, a Dutch pension fund or Japanese insurer borrows dollars and lends euro or yen in the “spot leg”, and later repays the dollars and receives euro or yen in the “forward leg.” Thus, an FX swap, along […]
Since the global financial crisis of 2008, the Global Financial Safety Net (GFSN) has changed dramatically to become increasingly voluminous and complex. Today, the GFSN is comprised of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), regional financial arrangements (RFAs) and bilateral currency swaps between central banks. The GFSN now has an unprecedented capacity for crisis prevention and […]
In parallel to a chaotic 27th UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, leaders of Group of 20 (G20) countries met in Bali, Indonesia from November 15-16 for the G20 Leaders’ Summit against a backdrop of worsening climate impacts, an ongoing energy crisis, Russia’s war in Ukraine and skyrocketing inflation. Expectations for the […]
By Amanda Brown Leaders from Group of 20 (G20) countries gather in Bali, Indonesia from November 16-17 – a highly anticipated policy event as developing countries face rocketing inflation, supply chain pressures from Russia’s war in Ukraine, the lingering financial bottlenecks of COVID-19 and devastating climate impacts. In the World Bank’s latest Global Economic Prospects […]
By Perry Mehrling I wrote Money and Empire: Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System to learn about global money: where it came from and where it’s going. For me, when I want to learn something, I look around for someone who already seems to have a good handle on it, and for global money, […]
Charles P. Kindleberger ranks as one of the 20th century’s best known and most influential international economists. A professor of International Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) from 1948-1976, he taught cosmopolitanism to a world riven with nationalist instinct. He worked to relieve the fears of his fellow citizens through education, thinking that […]
By Amanda Brown The international system is at a crossroads, facing increasingly global challenges and struggling to meet the needs of all countries amid rising levels of unsustainable debt and climate disasters. Against this backdrop, the IMF and World Bank kick off their Annual Meetings in Washington, D.C. from October 10-16, 2022. As these institutions […]
By William Kring As a surging US dollar wreaks havoc on emerging market and developing economies already battling high levels of indebtedness, climate change and inflation woes, central bank governors and finance ministers will convene in Washington, D.C. this week for the 2022 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group. […]