A “New Normal” for the Oil Market

Posted on October 27, 2016 by iMFdirect

By Rabah Arezki and Akito Matsumoto

Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Русский (Russian), and Español (Spanish)

While oil prices have stabilized somewhat in recent months, there are good reasons to believe they won’t return to the high levels that preceded their historic collapse two years ago. For one thing, shale oil production has permanently added to supply at lower prices. For another, demand will be curtailed by slower growth in emerging markets and global efforts to cut down on carbon emissions. It all adds up to a “new normal” for oil.

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Filed under: Advanced Economies, Economic research, Financial markets, growth, IMF, International Monetary Fund, oil, technology | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Big Bad Actors: A Global View of Debt

Posted on October 5, 2016 by iMFdirect

By Vitor Gaspar and Marialuz Moreno Badia

Versions in: عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Русский (Russian), and Español (Spanish)

In the midst of the Great Depression, the American economist Irving Fisher warned of the dangers of excessive debt and the deflationary pressures that follow on its tail. He saw debt and deflation as the big, bad actors. Now, their close relatives—too high debt and too low inflation—are still in play, at least for advanced economies.

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Filed under: Advanced Economies, China, Economic Crisis, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Fiscal policy, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Public debt, U.S. | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

The World Economy: Moving Sideways

Posted on October 4, 2016 by iMFdirect

maury-obstfeld-weo_220x150By Maurice Obstfeld

Versions in: عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Русский (Russian), and Español (Spanish)

A return to the strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth that Group of Twenty leaders called for at Hangzhou in September still eludes us. Global growth remains weak, even though it shows no noticeable deceleration over the last quarter. The new World Economic Outlook sees a slowdown for the group of advanced economies in 2016 and an offsetting pickup for emerging and developing economies. Taken as a whole, the world economy has moved sideways. Without determined policy action to support economic activity over the short and longer terms, sub-par growth at recent levels risks perpetuating itself—through the negative economic and political forces it is unleashing.

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Filed under: Advanced Economies, Africa, Annual Meetings, Economic outlook, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Financial markets, growth, IMF, International Monetary Fund | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Building Collaboration Without Crisis

Posted on September 29, 2016 by iMFdirect

By Ian Bremmer and David Lipton

Versions: عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Русский (Russian), and Español (Spanish)

Too often, a spirit of international cooperation evaporates just when it is most needed and most promising. And then, lack of cooperation leads to crisis; crisis belatedly forces cooperation; but that cooperation must begin with picking up the pieces.

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Filed under: Advanced Economies, Annual Meetings, China, Economic Crisis, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Europe, IMF, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, Middle East, U.S. | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

China’s Rebalancing Explained in 6 Charts

Posted on September 6, 2016 by iMFdirect

By Longmei Zhang

Version in 中文 (Chinese)

The word “rebalancing” is often used to describe China’s economic transition. But what does it mean? And how much is China rebalancing? A recent IMF paper attempts to answer these questions.  Continue reading →

Filed under: Advanced Economies, aging, Asia, China, climate change, Financial markets, growth, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, Reform | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

We Need Forceful Policies to Avoid the Low-Growth Trap

Posted on September 1, 2016 by iMFdirect

Lagarde.2015MDPORTRAIT4_114x128By Christine Lagarde

Versions in: عربي (Arabic),  中文 (Chinese), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Русский (Russian), and Español (Spanish)

Low growth, high inequality, and slow progress on structural reforms are among the key issues that G20 leaders will discuss at their meeting in Hangzhou, China, this weekend. This meeting comes at an important moment for the global economy. The political pendulum threatens to swing against economic openness, and without forceful policy actions, the world could suffer from disappointing growth for a long time. Continue reading →

Filed under: Advanced Economies, Emerging Markets, G-20, International Monetary Fund | Tagged: , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Back to School Blogs

Posted on August 23, 2016 by iMFdirect

By iMFdirect

It’s been a busy summer, and you might not have had a chance to read everything as it came across your screen. So as your holidays wind down and you head to work, the editors at iMFdirect have put together some key blogs on hot topics to help you get back up to speed by September.

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Filed under: Advanced Economies, Asia, banking, China, climate change, Emerging Markets, Employment, Europe, IMF, inflation, International Monetary Fund, labor markets, monetary policy, oil, refugees, U.S. | Tagged: , , , | Leave a comment »

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