Financial liberalization has noticeably reduced the role of the state in effectively influencing the economy in post-developmental states, yet many studies have found that the legacies of the developmental model continue to influence the policies, institutions and socioeconomic challenges that are faced by the states that previously adopted the model. These studies, however, do not […]
By Lara Merling This November, the Group of Twenty (G20) Leaders’ Summit in Bali, Indonesia was held in parallel to the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in the Egyptian resort town of Sharm El-Sheikh. World leaders, researchers and activists met amid a charged and challenging global context, from Russia’s war in Ukraine to […]
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 […]
By Rachel Thrasher A controversial legal process known as investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) threatens to hamper the ability of governments to mobilize finance for ambitious climate action and a just transition. When assets are protected by international investment agreements (IIAs) with ISDS, private investors in the fossil fuel sector can bring legal claims against countries […]
The World Trade Organization (WTO) came into existence in 1995, replacing the 50-year-old trade regime known as the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) that had governed trade among capitalist countries in the geopolitical context of the Cold War. The new regime was emblematic of a moment in time, when global economic integration was […]
A controversial legal process known as investor-state dispute settlements (ISDS) is making it difficult for governments to mobilize finance for ambitious climate action. When assets are protected by international investment treaties, like the Energy Charter Treaty, legal claims can be brought against countries by investors who feel they are negatively impacted by government policies. For […]
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 […]
By Amanda Brown On November 17, 2022, the Boston University Global Development Policy Center hosted Katrin Kaufer and Lily Steponaitis to discuss their book, “Just Money: Mission-Driven Banks and the Future of Finance,” as part of the Fall 2022 Global Economic Governance Initiative Book Talk series. Kaufer and Steponaitis take readers on a global tour […]
In 2009, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved reforms to make short-term operations available to low-income countries and reform lending to higher-income countries. Many scholars have noted that the 2008 Global Financial Crisis appeared to loosen austerity measures in favor of more counter-cyclical approaches. However, it remains an open question whether the IMF followed through […]