CONTENT
Lessons from the Global Financial Crisis: Interview with Valerie Cerra
The rise of populism: is it really the economy stupid?
Winners v. Losers: The dilemma of reforms
To BOT, or not to BOT ... that is (no longer) the question
Riding the Big Data Wave
Can {Un}Happiness Explain Macroeconomics?
IMF RESEARCH perspectives
Editors-in-Chief
Deniz Igan Chris Papageorgiou
Guest Editor
Sweta C. Saxena
Assistant Editor
Patricia Loo
Editorial Assistant
Tracey Lookadoo
Contributors
Anthony Annett
Hites Ahir
Pankhuri Dutt
Swarnali A. Hannan
Zoltan Jakab
Daniela Muhaj
Patricia Neidlinger
Cover, design, and layout
Creative Corporate Services and Facilities
IMF Research Perspectives—the IMF online bulletin with news on research is a bi-annual publication in English and is available exclusively online free of charge.
The views expressed in the Bulletin are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Material from this publication may be reprinted with proper attribution.
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Attn: Editor, IMF Research Perspectives
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E-mail: resbulletin@imf.org
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Individual issues are available at www.imf.org/researchbulletin.
Meet IMF Research Perspectives,
the bulletin with sharper storytelling, richer design, and more
When you read the Spring/Summer 2018 issue of the IMF Research Perspectives (formerly published as IMF Research Bulletin), if we did it right, you will meet the more approachable, more human side of IMF research and IMF researchers.
The bulletin has just turned 18, and we thought this was a good time to revamp the design and content. How? First, we transformed our Q&A feature into a complete interview. Second, we added more research summaries to give you a better sense of what IMF research has to offer on recent topical issues. Third, we changed the design to make your reading experience more enjoyable and reaching out to the contributors easier. And, of course, we changed the name to Perspectives, which we feel more accurately reflects our new approach focused on sharing views and encouraging interaction. One thing that hasn’t changed is our commitment to conduct and disseminate state-of-the-art, policy-relevant research to foster further discussion for better policymaking around the world.
Such an undertaking would not have been possible without a dedicated group of individuals: the guest editorial team led by Sweta Saxena and the design team led by Felipe Leon deserve the utmost credit.
We hope you will like our fresher, bolder look. Let us know what you think.
Deniz Igan and Chris Papageorgiou
Note from the guest editor
It has been ten years since the Global Financial Crisis and, around the world, output is yet to fully recover. Moreover, the gains from this slow recovery have largely benefited the relative few, helping to spawn a rise in populist movements in the developed world. The global economy has to confront new challenges from technology and automation (the changing nature of work) and the deployment of big data projects (quality and governance aspects). These portend a better future but also raise fears of further widening the gap between the haves and the have-nots. Perhaps what is missing in this big picture is how the focus of policies can be changed from external values (such as competition, consumption, and profits) to internal values (such as cooperation, compassion, and happiness). The articles in this edition shed light on these issues and how, in the future, economic policies need to evolve to balance tradeoffs and be more supportive and inclusive.
Sweta C. Saxena