By Nemat Shafik (Version in عربي) Recently I went orienteering with my children as part of a school trip.  Orienteering is a sport whereby you have to find your way to various checkpoints through unknown terrain with only a compass and a topographical map. Wandering through the woods with six 9-year-olds was a good lesson in the value of good directions and data to find your way when you are in unchartered territory. Likewise, making policy decisions without adequate and timely data would also...

By Carlo Cottarelli The austerity vs. growth debate has raged in recent months, pitting those who argue that fiscal policy should be tightened more aggressively now to bring down high levels of debt, even though economic growth remains weak, against those who want to postpone the adjustment to better times. This is a critical issue for policymakers, perhaps the most important one in the short run. And yet, this debate—which, mea culpa, I have myself contributed to―is attracting too much...

The IMF’s well written Finance & Development magazine has recently published two helpful online compilations of articles that may be useful to students and those interested in economic issues.    They are rich collections of material that are totally free!! 1. Back to Basics — explaining some fundamental concepts in Economics and Finance 2. People in Economics — a collection of profiles of leading economists and policymakers, including 10 Nobel Prize winners. In...

By Nemat Shafik (Version in عربي) What strikes you on a trip to the Middle East is that everyone is talking politics—all of the time. That had been the case in countries like Lebanon where it is a national pastime, but it is a new phenomenon in countries across North Africa and the Gulf. Constitutions are being rewritten, political parties and youth groups are vibrant, and everyone has an opinion on current events. The older generation seems worried by the uncertainty associated with change....

By Anoop Singh Here’s the good news: thanks to relatively strong fundamentals and good policies,  Asian economies have coped well with the global market turbulence of recent years. Now the bad: a major financial shock—say, of type ignited by the bankruptcy of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008—is likely to have a substantial impact on Asia.  The reason: Asia’s increasing financial interconnectedness. Over the past two decades—in line with the region’s growing role in the global...

By Mauricio Villafuerte It reads like a script for a Hollywood movie—a poor protagonist happens upon an opportunity that has the potential of bestowing riches, but an evil curse threatens to spoil it all. Unfortunately, it’s not a movie script. The scenario plays out repeatedly in many parts of the real world all the time. For many developing countries, managing natural resources and the increased revenues they bring is a tough haul. Cue the extensive literature on the “resource curse” and the...

By Antoinette Sayeh In previous global downturns, sub-Saharan Africa has usually been badly affected—but not this time around. The world economy has experienced much dislocation since the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008. Output levels in many advanced economies still remain below pre-crisis levels, while unemployment levels have surged; growth in emerging market economies has slowed, but remains quite high. But in sub-Saharan Africa, growth for the region as a whole has remained...

By Nemat Shafik The uprisings that spread across the Middle East and North Africa in 2011 taught us that even rapid economic growth cannot be maintained unless it is inclusive, creates enough jobs for the growing labor force, and is accompanied by policies that protect the most vulnerable. And the absence of transparent and fair rules of the game will inevitably undermine the development process. Hopes after the revolutions are high and so are people’s expectations. Hence, there is a need to...

By Luis Cubeddu, Camilo E. Tovar, and Evridiki Tsounta (Version in Español) Housing construction projects are sprouting up across much of Latin America and mortgage credit is also growing very fast. Does this sound familiar? It should! Easy external financing conditions and high commodity prices have led to important improvements in living standards and credit deepening in many countries of the region over the past decade. The credit expansion has been particularly impressive in the mortgage...

By David Lipton The debate on austerity vs. growth has gained in intensity, as countries in Europe and elsewhere struggle with low growth, high debt, and rising unemployment. In essence, policymakers are being asked to tackle a continuation of the worst crisis since the Great Depression. This would be no easy task under any circumstances. But it is made considerably harder by the fact that a number of countries need to engage in fiscal consolidation simultaneously. Complicating the picture...