By Zheng Zhai and Kevin P. Gallagher Countries across the Global South need a stepwise increase in investment to improve the well-being of their population and foster low-carbon, equitable and resilient growth. Countries must promote growth while simultaneously avoiding the significant social and economic losses that could arise from climate change and social instability. Lower […]
By Fahmida Khatun, Syed Yusuf Saadat, Afrin Mahbub and Zazeeba Waziha Saleh Following the conclusion of the 2025 International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank Group Annual Meetings in Washington, D.C., the fiscal constraints faced by least developed countries (LDCs) in meeting their external debt obligations are a key topic of conversation, alongside the growing impacts of […]
Bangladesh’s external debt servicing record has historically been stellar as a least developed country. The country has comfortably met its external debt servicing obligations, largely thanks to its strong export performance. However, Bangladesh has taken on a large volume of foreign debt to finance multiple infrastructure mega-projects. The country has struggled with macroeconomic management in […]
By Tim Hirschel-Burns With the 2025 International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank Group Annual Meetings underway in Washington, D.C. from October 13-18, the agenda is noticeably light. At the meetings, the World Bank will continue to focus on its jobs strategy. At the Spring Meetings in April, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called on the IMF […]
Climate change is a global environmental crisis that has perpetuated economic and fiscal challenges for countries all over the world. Concurrent with the awareness of climate change risks, there is growing unease regarding the disproportionate impact of climate change on less-developed countries, particularly those in Africa. Countries with persistently low per capita growth, such as […]
By Samantha Igo As a record-breaking heat wave strains energy grids and risks public health across Europe, policymakers, activists and experts convene in Seville, Spain from June 30 to July 3 for the highly anticipated 4th International Conference on Financing for Development (FFD4). These rather rare policy events (the last was 10 years ago in […]
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 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 […]
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 […]
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 […]