Developing countries are facing dramatic debt and development crises where, to meet obligations to their external creditors, debt-distressed countries are sacrificing investments in education, healthcare, infrastructure and climate resilience. A reason for the debt situation is that the international community failed to address the flaws in the global financial architecture and to enable and embolden […]
By Tim Hirschel-Burns The highly anticipated Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4) will take place from June 30 to July 3 in Seville, Spain. Achieving the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires funding that is in short supply in developing countries, and the FFD process is designed to help facilitate a global […]
By Marina Zucker-Marques The African continent holds immense potential for sustainable development. It is rich in renewable energy resources—home to 60 percent of the world’s solar potential, 30 percent of proven transition mineral reserves and enough wind capacity to meet its electricity needs 250 times over. Its young and growing population is another powerful engine […]
The Global Financial Safety Net (GFSN) is a set of institutions and mechanisms that provide insurance against crises and financing to mitigate their impacts. It has four main elements: countries’ own international reserves; bilateral swap arrangements whereby central banks exchange currencies to provide liquidity to banking systems; regional financial arrangements (RFAs) by which countries pool […]
Troubled sovereign international debt is a global governance challenge, requiring solutions balancing the interests of the global economy, creditors, and debtor nations and their citizens. Unspoken ethical and/or logical assumptions exert subtle influences on sovereign debt debates and negotiations. A new working paper by Leslie Elliott Armijo and Prateek Sood explores the origins of the […]
By Leslie Elliott Armijo and Prateek Sood Ideas matter for choices about economic policy. Unexamined assumptions may bound the scope of the analysis of the sources of problems, as well as their possible solutions. After each round of international financial crises and their associated sovereign defaults, possible solutions are proposed to amend the global governance […]
To achieve the United Nations 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and avoid the catastrophic consequences of climate inaction, emerging market and developing countries (excluding China) need to mobilize a massive volume of investments, with estimates ranging between $3-4 trillion annually by 2030. However, not only is developing countries’ fiscal space constrained by the features of […]
In many ways the African continent has been poised for take-off. The continent is home to many of the key ingredients for a successful 21st century economy with 60 percent of the world’s solar resources, 30 percent of proven transition mineral reserves and enough wind potential to provide the entire continent enough electricity to meet […]
By Nathalie Marins Over the past few years, public debt has returned to the spotlight, especially in developing economies. Once seen as a tool for economic development and crisis response, debt has been increasingly perceived as a significant risk to economic stability and growth. With global shocks like the COVID-19 pandemic, rising interest rates in […]
The concept of policy space, especially fiscal space, has become increasingly important as policymakers strive to balance the need for increased public investment with concerns about debt sustainability. However, there is still no consensus on the definitions of policy space and external sustainability. A new working paper by Nathalie Marins seeks to contribute to this discussion […]