By Samantha Igo Amid warnings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that it is “now or never” for climate action, policymakers meet in Paris this week on June 22-23 for the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact. With the $100 billion climate finance commitment by advanced economies long overdue, and current estimates suggesting […]
The rise of regional financial arrangements (RFAs) over the last two decades has significantly reshaped the Global Financial Security Net (GFSN), which was previously almost the sole purview of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). While the rise in regionally based financial resources has been widely noted, as have the challenges of coordinating IMF and RFA […]
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 […]
As the world comes to grips with the devastating economic and public health consequences of COVID-19, Southern-led alternative institutions for finance and development have taken on more importance than ever. The new book, “South-South Regional Financial Arrangements: Collaboration Towards Resilience,” from William N. Kring and Kevin P. Gallagher, in partnership with Diana Barrowclough and Richard […]
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 William Kring As the more lethal and contagious Delta variant of COVID-19 spreads across the globe, concerns continue to mount about the duration of the global pandemic and its growing social and economic costs. Just last week, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) trimmed its global economic growth forecast and cited rising debt levels and […]
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the year 2020 saw the sharpest economic downturn since the Great Depression. In 2021, the world economy is showing signs of a broad, albeit uneven recovery. The existing gaps of vaccination rollouts, economic fundamentals, and varying monetary and fiscal responses in different countries pose challenges in the areas of financial […]
China is now the world’s largest source of bilateral development finance and will likely continue to play a prominent role in sovereign lending through its multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). A new journal article published in Nature’s Scientific Data by a team of Boston University Global Development Policy Center researchers introduces major methodological enhancements […]
On the eve of the COVID-19 crisis, the global financial safety net (GFSN) boasted more liquidity resources than at any other point in history. As the global economy entered into free fall due to the economic effects of the pandemic and efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19, both casual observers and experts were convinced […]
By Maureen Heydt The 2020s were meant to be a decade of achieving shared sustainable development and climate goals, but instead began with a global pandemic, creating the biggest economic downturn since the Great Depression and pushing upwards of 124 million people pushed into extreme poverty. 2020 was also one of the hottest years on […]