More than half of all countries in the world have laws that restrict women from joining the workforce. The IMF says the global economy would benefit by Boosting Women’s Participation in the Labor Force, and hosted a seminar on the topic last fall during the Fund’s annual meetings. Sarah Iqbal participated in that forum and talks in this podcast about the hurdles women face when starting a business. Read as well the IMF Survey story on Unleashing the Economic Power of Women [http://www.imf.org/ex...
Dec 31, 2014•7 min
Antibiotics have transformed modern medicine, but their overuse has resulted in more drug–resistant strains of bacteria. As resistance increases, people in poorer countries often can’t afford expensive second-line drugs. Ramanan Laxminarayan, Princeton University and director of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy.
Dec 23, 2014•8 min
Economist Justin Wolfers explains why the continued challenge of tackling income inequality should be a global priority for countries around the world and across the economic spectrum.
Dec 18, 2014•8 min
South Africa can celebrate significant progress in its first 20 years of democracy, but faces the challenge of reviving a weak economy. Addressing structural constraints such as electricity shortages are key to increasing growth.
Dec 11, 2014•8 min
Despite his reputation as the father of greedy capitalism, Adam Smith did a great deal of thinking about the human condition and how to be a better, more generous person. One economist believes that Smith could change your life. Listen to Russ Roberts on economics as entertainment:
Dec 08, 2014•8 min
Economic ideas can be a hard pill to swallow for non-academics, and yet virtually everyone can benefit from understanding them. Economist Russ Roberts discusses how he uses stories, rap music and the internet to help the medicine go down.
Nov 26, 2014•9 min
Data has gained prominence as a vital building block for making sound policy. IMF Director of Statistics, Louis Marc Ducharme talks about how the IMF is helping make data more widely available to policy makers.
Nov 19, 2014•6 min
When the richest 85 people hold the combined wealth of 3.5 Billion poor people, economist Jose Antonio Ocampo explains that Income inequality can shift from a human rights issue to a marker of potentially dangerous economic instability.
Nov 10, 2014•9 min
Labor market flexibility is considered by many to be essential to an efficient market economy. But a top-level official of the ILO says there’s been an excessive focus on worker flexibility. Off the back of an IMF/World Bank seminar, she explained how economic growth can be nurtured to benefit all.
Nov 06, 2014•7 min
As Uganda’s economy continues to grow, so does the need for more efficient ways of managing large development projects. The country’s finance minister says the objectives of each program must be clear, for capacity building to be effective.
Oct 29, 2014•7 min
Private investment is down in India, partly due to the lack of coal and electricity. India's new chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian says removing those bottlenecks is key to increasing growth.
Oct 23, 2014•6 min
Caribbean economies have been slow to recover from the global financial crisis. This week, the IMF and the government of Jamaica will host a high level forum that will discuss ways of boosting the economies of the region.
Oct 20, 2014•7 min
The work of master economist John Maynard Keynes has been key in the resolution of successive crises from the Great Depression to the recent global financial crisis. An IMF economist gives an overview of the man, his ideas and their impact on economic policy.
Oct 16, 2014•7 min
The IMF’s latest Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa says growth in the region is currently at 5% and will continue to rise to 5¾ in 2015. The good news is overshadowed however in countries worst affected by the Ebola pandemic.
Oct 10, 2014•4 min
The world needs more growth, and more jobs to escape the prospect of prolonged, mediocre economic future, says the head of the International Monetary Fund who laid out the prospects for the global economy, and the priorities for the international organization at the start of the IMF-World Bank Meetings.
Oct 09, 2014•2 min
In the current environment of slow economic growth, where conditions are right, there’s a strong case for increasing public investment, says the IMF in its latest World Economic Outlook
Oct 08, 2014•5 min
The global economy is suffering weak and uneven growth, with countries experiencing different rates of recovery from the global financial crisis of 2008. While the economies of some advanced countries continue to expand, the emerging markets are facing lower domestic demand and geopolitical tensions.
Oct 07, 2014•2 min
Le Fonds monétaire international accorde $130 millions d’aide financière aux trois pays d’Afrique de l’Ouest les plus touchés par la crise de l’Ébola. Le Libéria, la Guinée et la Sierra Leone se heurtent à un ralentissement de la croissance et la flambée du virus bouleverse l’agriculture, le secteur minier et les services. La Directrice générale du FMI, Christine Lagarde, a déclaré que la communauté internationale doit se mobiliser pour aider les pays frappés de plein fouet par la crise.
Sep 26, 2014•2 min
The International Monetary Fund is to give $130 million dollars of financial assistance to the three countries in west Africa hardest hit by the ebola crisis. Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone are facing slowing growth and disruptions to agriculture, mining, and services because of the outbreak.
Sep 26, 2014•2 min
As the Chinese president, Xi Jinping continues his state visit to India, a leading Indian economist assesses the rapid development of these two giant economies, and suggests that the world’s most populous countries may be forging a quite exceptional development path.
Sep 18, 2014•4 min
Small states or countries with fewer than 1.5 million people have been struggling economically in recent years. An IMF economist offers an explanation and possible solutions.
Aug 28, 2014•7 min
Traditionally, countries developed their economies by moving away from agriculture into manufacturing. This was then followed by growth of the service sector. But many countries in Africa are building their service sector without transitioning through widespread industrialization. Is Africa experiencing a quite different path towards development? For more information: http://www.qeh.ox.ac.uk/research/research-themes/projectDetails?res_id=39
Aug 15, 2014•4 min
Chinese economic growth has been slowing in recent years. If the world’s second largest economy is to achieve sustainable, long-term growth, it needs reforms to shadow banking, local government finances and the real estate sector, say IMF economists.
Aug 07, 2014•7 min
Fiscal policies should be center stage in getting energy prices to reflect the harmful health and environmental side effects associated with energy use, according to a new report released by the IMF
Jul 31, 2014•7 min
Equality is not just about everyone getting their fair share, it’s also about everyone paying their fair share. A top NGO chief says the growing wealth gap could be reduced by tightening both domestic and international tax rules. Read more on the subject: Fixing International Corporate Taxation---Not Just a Problem for Advanced Economies http://blog-imfdirect.imf.org/2014/06/25/fixing-international-corporate-taxation-not-just-a-problem-for-advanced-economies/ http://www.imf.org/external/np/pp/en...
Jul 10, 2014•5 min
The International Monetary Fund has launched the first in a series of free online courses for those interested in furthering their economic education. One of the course’s instructors explains the benefits of raising the public’s knowledge about economics, and what he himself has learned from the creation of the course.
Jul 03, 2014•8 min
Shadow banking is a system of uninsured investments from non-bank institutions. It can yield very high returns, but investments come with the risk of total bust. Even though shadow banking has the potential for enormous losses, it will continue to be a part of China's economic landscape, says one Sino expert.
Jun 26, 2014•8 min
Africa has grown faster than many other parts of the world over the last two decades, but many Africans are still not seeing the benefits. One Africa specialist suggests measures that authorities might adopt to take advantage of the continent’s burgeoning potential.
Jun 20, 2014•6 min
After years of double digit expansion, China’s economic growth is slowing. The world’s second largest economy expanded off the back of manufacturing, investment and exports. But, China is now looking inwards for its future growth.
Jun 12, 2014•7 min
Economists are often criticized for viewing the world through the lens of costs and benefits, while ignoring the morality of an economic decision. But, while economics can’t answer moral questions, it can inform the debate, says one expert.
Jun 05, 2014•6 min
