On August 23, 2021, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) allocated a historic $650 billion worth of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) in a general allocation to its 190 members, proportional to their quota. SDRs are an international reserve asset that can be exchanged for hard currency or donated among member countries. These new SDRs added much-needed […]
By Lara Merling On April 11, the Boston University Global Development Policy Center co-hosted a panel as part of the 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Spring Meetings Civil Society Policy Forum. The panel, featuring global experts and advocates, explored the IMF’s proposal to establish a Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) as a […]
By Amanda Brown The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Executive Board meets today to consider the final design of the proposed Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST). Designed to re-channel some of the $650 billion in Special Drawing Rights allocated last August, the RST has the potential to address a glaring gap in the international finance architecture […]
By Sara Jane Ahmed and Rishikesh Ram Bhandary The International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) allocation of $650 billion in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) last August was one of the boldest steps taken by the international community to help countries recover and rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) proposed by the […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has induced new financial strains for emerging market economies (EMEs) and low-income developing countries (LDCs). As a remedy to these strains, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) allocated $650 billion in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) in August 2021. Since then, recent IMF communications give evidence of the ongoing attempt to revamp SDRs into […]
By Samantha Igo Amid the social and economic stress of the COVID-19 pandemic, emerging market and developing countries have faced severe liquidity bottlenecks while working to implement responsive public health and economic policies. Compounded by an already-looming debt crisis, the economic distress led experts and civil society organizations to advocate for the International Monetary Fund […]
In 2021, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued a historic allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) equivalent to $650 billion. These supplementary international reserve assets were allocated to help meet the liquidity bottlenecks facing many countries due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, because of the IMF’s quota-based decision-making structure, SDRs primarily flowed to more advanced […]
As 2021 comes to a close and the world faces another year battling COVID-19, experts from our Global Economic Governance Initiative look back on the policy progress – and shortcomings – for the year, and highlight what to keep an eye on for 2022. Below, read key takeaways on vaccine equity, sovereign debt, global financial […]
By Rishikesh Ram Bhandary and Katie Gallogly-Swan While the outcome of COP26 was far from meeting shared climate goals, there are abundant opportunities to drive change and advance development and climate goals in the coming year. Governments, development finance institutions and civil society must use the achievements in Glasgow as a launch pad for concrete […]
In August, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) allocated $650 billion in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), the international reserve asset of the IMF, to support liquidity and foster global economic resilience in the wake of COVID-19. To further these recovery efforts, a Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) was proposed, in part as a means of re-channeling […]