Building on Latin America’s Success

Posted on December 6, 2012 by iMFdirect

Christine Lagarde

By Christine Lagarde

(Version in Español)

Next week, I will travel to Latin America—my second visit to the region since November 2011. I return with increased optimism, as much of Latin America continues its impressive transformation that started a decade ago.

The region remains resilient to the recent bouts in global volatility, and many countries continue to expand at a healthy pace. An increasing number of people are escaping the perils of poverty to join a growing and increasingly vibrant middle class.

(more…)

Filed under: Economic Crisis, Emerging Markets, Español, Fiscal policy, growth, IMF, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, Latin America, Public debt | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Time Not On Our Side: Tough Decisions Needed to Strengthen Financial Stability

Posted on October 10, 2012 by iMFdirect

By José Viñals

(Versions in  عربي, 中文, Español, Français, Русский, 日本語)

Recent policy actions in Europe, the United States, in emerging markets, and here in Japan, where I’m attending the IMF-World Bank annual meetings, have improved investor sentiment and helped markets rebound in recent months.

Yet our latest assessment is that confidence is still very fragile and risks have increased, when compared to the IMF’s last report in April. Policymakers need to do more to gain lasting stability.

The principal risk remains the euro area. The forces of financial and economic fragmentation have widened the divide between countries at the core and the “periphery” of the euro zone. Faltering confidence and policy uncertainty have led to a pullback of cross-border private capital flows from the periphery—quite an extraordinary phenomenon within a currency union.

This has driven up funding costs to governments and banks, as well as for companies and households, and, in turn, threatening a vicious downward economic spiral.

(more…)

Filed under: Advanced Economies, Annual Meetings, Asia, Economic Crisis, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Europe, Finance, Financial Crisis, Financial regulation, Globalization, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Politics, Public debt | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

Global Crisis — Top Links from the IMF for Economics and Finance

Posted on June 27, 2012 by iMFdirect

Our top links for June, 2012 from iMFdirect blog and others:

Filed under: Advanced Economies, Africa, Asia, Economic Crisis, Economic outlook, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Employment, Europe, Finance, Financial Crisis, Fiscal policy, Globalization, growth, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, Investment, Latin America, LICs, Middle East, Multilateral Cooperation, Politics, Public debt | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

The Art of Shifting Gear

Posted on April 27, 2012 by iMFdirect

By Anoop Singh

If you needed further evidence about the fallacy of Asia’s economy “decoupling” from that of the developed world, then this month’s Asia and Pacific Regional Economic Outlook would be a good place to look.

The findings in this new report,  just released in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, illustrate how Asia’s economic fate remains heavily dependent on events far beyond its immediate borders.

Consider two possible future scenarios to illustrate this ongoing interconnectedness: if global prospects continue to brighten following recent, concerted policy actions in the euro area and, if there are further indications of recovery in the United States, this will all augur well for trade-dependent Asia.   Against this backdrop, the region could enjoy a boost in demand, fresh capital inflows and even a revival of overheating pressures.

But,  were the financial turmoil in the euro area to escalate and spread globally, this would likely result in a sharp fall in demand for Asia’s exports by advanced economies and a possible retrenchment of credit by stressed foreign banks, all of which would be a severe blow to Asia.

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Filed under: Advanced Economies, Asia, Economic Crisis, Economic outlook, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Employment, Europe, Financial Crisis, Fiscal policy, Globalization, growth, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, Multilateral Cooperation, recession | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Going Broke? Why Pension Reforms Are Needed in Emerging Economies

Posted on April 6, 2012 by iMFdirect

By Mauricio Soto

We’re all getting older, and there’s no doubt that pension reform is a hot topic in the advanced economies. But it’s also critical in emerging economies.

Our analysis here at the IMF shows that across emerging economies pension spending is projected to rise as the population ages. On average, these spending increases are not that large. But reforms are needed to increase coverage of the system without making pension systems financially unsustainable over the long term.

Rising spending

In emerging Europe, we’ve seen how pension spending has increased from 7½ to 9 percent of GDP over the past two decades. Spending also increased rapidly in other emerging economies—albeit from much lower levels—going from 2 to 3 percent of GDP over the same period. It seems the relatively low spending in emerging economies outside Europe reflects relatively low coverage (generally only those in the formal sector are eligible) and younger populations.

Populations are aging rapidly in the emerging economies. As illustrated in Chart 1, a rather grim picture is developing where we see that the ratio of elderly to working population will more than double in the next four decades. In the future, there will be many more retirees consuming what fewer workers will produce.

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Filed under: Africa, Emerging Markets, Europe, Finance, growth, Inequality, Latin America, Middle East, Public debt | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments »

How to Exit the Danger Zone: IMF Update on Global Financial Stability

Posted on January 24, 2012 by iMFdirect

By José Viñals

(Versions in  عربي, 中文, Español, Français, Русский, 日本語)

Since September of last year, risks to global financial stability have deepened, notably in the euro area.

However, over the past few weeks, markets have been encouraged by measures to provide liquidity to banks and sovereigns in the euro area. This recent improvement should not be taken for granted, as some sovereign debt markets remain under stress, and as bank funding markets are on life support from the European Central Bank (ECB).

Main sources of risk

Many of the root causes of the euro area crisis still need to be addressed before the system is stabilized and returns to health. Until this is done, global financial stability is likely to remain well within the “danger zone,” where a misstep or failure to address underlying tensions could precipitate a global crisis with grave economic and financial consequences.

Despite the recent improvements, sovereign financing stress has increased for many countries—with almost two-thirds of outstanding euro area bonds at spreads in excess of 150 basis points—and financing prospects are challenging. Markets remain very volatile and long-term foreign investors have sharply reduced their exposure to a number of euro area debt markets, including some in the core. Keeping these investors involved is essential to stabilizing markets.

(more…)

Filed under: Advanced Economies, Economic Crisis, Emerging Markets, Europe, Financial Crisis, IMF, International Monetary Fund | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Global Growth Hits a Soft Patch

Posted on June 17, 2011 by iMFdirect

By Olivier Blanchard

(Versions in
عربي,  中文, Español, Français, Português, Русский)

Today we’re in Sao Paulo, Brazil, to release our update to the IMF’s World Economic Outlook.

Despite a mild slowdown, the global economic recovery continues but the road to health will be a long one.  Downside risks, both old and new, are increasing.

Our world forecast is 4.3% growth for 2011, and 4.5% for 2012, so down by 0.1% for 2011, and unchanged for 2012, relative to April.  This figure hides very different performances for advanced economies on the one hand, and for emerging and developing economies on the other.  (more…)

Filed under: Advanced Economies, Economic Crisis, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Employment, Europe, growth, IMF | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Nanjing and the New International Monetary System

Posted on March 31, 2011 by iMFdirect

By Dominique Strauss-Kahn

(Version in 中文)

I am delighted to be back in China this week for a high-level seminar in Nanjing on the international monetary system. Every time I come to this part of the world, I am impressed by the dynamism of the economies and the optimism of the people. The future is here.

The region’s economic performance over the past few decades has been nothing short of remarkable. Asia now accounts for about a third of the global economy, up from under just a fifth in 1980. This trend has been reinforced by the crisis, with the emerging market powerhouses leading the global recovery.

Asia has also made tremendous progress with poverty reduction. China alone has pulled hundreds of millions of people out of poverty over the past few decades. Such a feat has never before been accomplished in the history of human civilization.

But to sustain this progress, Asia needs to grapple with numerous challenges today, among them the need to deal with overheating pressures and volatile capital inflows. And this relates directly to our discussion at Nanjing. (more…)

Filed under: Economic Crisis, Global Governance, Globalization, International Monetary Fund, 中文 | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

Continuing the Momentum—Asia’s Updated Economic Outlook

Posted on July 9, 2010 by iMFdirect

By Anoop Singh

Asia’s leadership of the global economic recovery is continuing unabated. And, even though heightened risks mean there may be tough times ahead again, the region is well equipped to handle them.

Asia’s remarkably fast recovery from the global financial crisis continued in the first half of 2010, despite the recent tensions in global financial markets. In fact, GDP growth in the first quarter was generally stronger than we anticipated in our Regional Economic Outlook in April. And high-frequency indicators suggest that Asian economic activity remained brisk in the second quarter. Even more notable, this is true both for economies that escaped a recession in 2009, thanks to their relatively larger domestic demand bases (China, Indonesia, and India), and for the more export-oriented economies such as Japan, the Newly Industrialized Economies (NIEs), and the rest of the ASEAN.

Two growth engines

What explains the strong economic momentum across the region? It is simple. The two “engines of growth” that spurred Asia’s recovery in 2009— exports and private domestic demand—have remained robust in 2010.

(more…)

Filed under: Asia, Economic Crisis, Emerging Markets, Financial Crisis, Fiscal Stimulus, growth | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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