No Time to Waste
Check out the special issue on climate, produced in partnership with the UN Climate Change Conference, featuring a diverse range of voices from academics, policymakers, the private sector, and youth activists.
"We have no time to waste. As we look ahead to COP26, we must be ready to move decisively—together. We know what must be done; now we must do." - Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Direcor, IMF
Guidance Note for Fund Staff on the Treatment and Use of SDR Allocations
This Note provides guidance for staff on the treatment and use of allocations of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). It presents a consistent framework for IMF country teams to assess the macroeconomic implications of the SDR allocation at the country level, covering the following areas: • Statistical and accounting treatment. • General macroeconomic implications and advice. • Debt sustainability analysis. • Transparency and accountability. • Reserve management. • Implications for Fund-supported programs.
2021 External Sector Report: Divergent Recoveries and Global Imbalances
Overall current account deficits and surpluses widened in 2020 to 3.2 percent of world GDP. The IMF’s multilateral approach suggests that global excessive imbalanceswere broadly unchanged in 2020 at about 1.2 percent of world GDP. The external outlook for2021 is highly uncertain given the divergent economic prospects across countries.
World Economic Outlook Update, July 2021: Fault Lines Widen in the Global Recovery
The global economy is projected to grow 6.0 percent in 2021 and 4.9 percent in 2022.The 2021 global forecast is unchanged from the April 2021 WEO, but with offsetting revisions. Prospects for emerging market and developing economies have been marked down for 2021, especially for Emerging Asia. By contrast, the forecast for advanced economies is revised up. These revisions reflect pandemic developments and changes in policy support.
The Global Informal Workforce: Priorities for Inclusive Growth
The Global Informal Workforce is a fresh look at the informal economy around the world and its impact on the macroeconomy. The book covers interactions between the informal economy, labor and product markets, gender equality, fiscal institutions and outcomes, social protection, and financial inclusion. Informality is a widespread and persistent phenomenon that affects how fast economies can grow, develop, and provide decent economic opportunities for their populations. The COVID-19 pandemic has helped to uncover the vulnerabilities of the informal workforce.
A Proposal to End the COVID-19 Pandemic
In a newly released Staff Discussion Note, Ruchir Agarwal and Gita Gopinath outline a $50 billion proposal to end the pandemic faster, with benefits of about $9 trillion for the global economy. The proposal requires upfront financing, upfront vaccine donations, at-risk investment in vaccine production, and international coordination. Read the paper here.
Global Financial Stability Report, April 2021: Preempting a Legacy of Vulnerabilities
Extraordinary policy measures have eased financial conditions and supported the economy, helping to contain financial stability risks. Chapter 1 warns that there is a pressing need to act to avoid a legacy of vulnerabilities while avoiding a broad tightening of financial conditions. Actions taken during the pandemic may have unintended consequences such as stretched valuations and rising financial vulnerabilities. The recovery is also expected to be asynchronous and divergent between advanced and emerging market economies.
Fiscal Report, April 2021: A Fair Shot
This report overviews countries' fiscal actions in response to COVID-19 and discusses how governments' policies should adapt to get ahead of the pandemic and set the stage for a greener, fairer, and more durable recovery. Global vaccination should be scaled up as it can save lives and will eventually pay for itself with stronger employment and economic activity. Until the pandemic is brought under control globally, fiscal policies must remain flexible and supportive, while keeping debt at a manageable level over the long term.
