IMF Podcasts 3v6k3

With all the instability within the Middle East and North Africa region of late, Egypt has nonetheless managed to reign in soaring inflation and win its largest-ever foreign investment. Egypt’s efforts to restore macroeconomic stability in recent years have led to an arrangement under the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility for Egypt, which makes available US$820 million to help its reform agenda. Ivanna Vladkova Hollar leads the IMF’s work in Egypt. In this podcast, she says that while stabilizing its economy is positive, Egypt’s next big step is an economic transformation that will lift its private sector. Transcript: https://bit.ly/4efXuzH Learn more about the IMF’s work in Egypt at IMF.org/Egypt

Working from home was not an option for most people before March 11, 2020, when work and home life suddenly collided. The pandemic upended many aspects of doing business, but the daily commute is one routine that seems unlikely to return to what it was. Nicholas Bloom was studying the potential impact of remote work long before the pandemic launched it into the mainstream and now has data to suggest businesses should stick to the hybrid working model. Bloom is the William D. Eberle Professor of Economics at Stanford University.  Transcript: https://bit.ly/3Xbxfmz Read the article in Finance and Development: IMF.org/fandd

The world has changed since postwar economic thought placed GDP growth as its guiding principle. 20th-century progress has pushed planetary resources to the limit and brings the sustainability of traditional macroeconomic models into question. In this podcast, Kate Raworth talks with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe about her alternative model Doughnut Economics, which places economic objectives within the social and ecological boundaries of the living planet. Raworth is an ecological economist and the author of Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist.  Transcript: https://bit.ly/475TLBW

For many emerging market economies, moving from an export-oriented strategy with labor-intensive manufacturing to a more sophisticated production process was key to their development. But the world is quickly changing, and Raghuram Rajan says India need not follow that same path. In their new book, Breaking the Mold, the former Reserve Bank of India governor and co-author Rohit Lamba argue that India has lost its labor cost advantage and must focus on developing its human capital. In this podcast, IMF Asia and Pacific Department Head Krishna Srinivasan and Raghuram Rajan discuss how India might leverage its growing workforce and pivot from “brawn to brain”. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3yt3iX2 Read Krishna Srinivasan’s book review in September’s Finance and Development: IMF.org/fandd

For decades, governments have been tapping into global sovereign debt markets to smooth ups and downs in revenue with the hope that it would help spur investment. But what happens when government borrowing fails to deliver, and the citizens are left paying the bill? Mark Aguiar says emerging market and developing economies are especially vulnerable to interest rate spikes when debt levels are high. Aguiar is the Director of the International Economics Section at Princeton University, and his research suggests that sovereign borrowing to stabilize the economy may have the opposite effect. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3yHY3T8 Read the article at IMF.org/fandd

 The world is changing so quickly it’s hard to think of one aspect of our economic lives that hasn’t shifted from what it was only a few years ago. Trade is no exception. New technologies, the re-emergence of industrial policy, and rising geopolitical tensions are all putting added pressure on the international trading system. Michele Ruta is a trade expert at the IMF. He says global cooperation is key to preventing economic fragmentation, from which no one benefits. Transcript: https://bit.ly/4fuz7zo Check out the global trade webpage at IMF.org/en/Topics/Trade

Aging populations in many advanced and emerging market economies mean shrinking workforces, weighing on growth. However, the opposite is true in low-income countries where populations are growing, and the expanding workforce may lack the skills for the job market. How can these two scenarios offset each other? Lisa Kolovich says women hold the key. Kolovich is an economist in the IMF Inclusion and Gender Unit, which has published a study that shows that ing women’s health and education isn’t only the right thing to do but helps build critical human capital. In this podcast, Kolovich says gender equality can serve as a stabilizing factor to rebalance demographic trends.  Transcript : https://bit.ly/4bFhZ6y

Nigeria’s new istration has set out on an ambitious reform path to stabilize its currency, regain market confidence, and tame inflation. In this podcast, Governor Olayemi Cardoso and IMF Africa Department head, Abebe Aemro Selassie discuss the role of Nigeria’s central bank in restoring macroeconomic stability. The conversation took place as part of the Governor Talks series held during the IMF-Word Bank Spring Meetings.

Economic growth is often seen as the core ingredient to social development, but it’s a relatively new idea. So what did pre-growth society look like and how much growth can modern society sustain? In his latest book, Daniel Susskind argues that economic policy should consider the costs of growth more carefully and realign the drivers to better fit with the challenges of our time. Susskind is a research professor at King's College London and a senior research associate at the Institute for Ethics in AI at Oxford University. In this podcast, he says growth doesn’t come from the tangible world of things but from the intangible world of ideas.  Transcript: https://bit.ly/3yY83aK

Central banks worldwide share common practices in how they operate, but the UK’s central bank is unique in how it makes its rate decisions. Catherine Mann is a Professor of the Practice at Brandeis University and one of four external voting of the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England. In this podcast, Mann says the pickup in capital flows in neighboring countries earlier this year required careful consideration by the BOE, and the broader range of backgrounds on its board helped to make the right monetary policy decisions.  Transcript: https://bit.ly/3RaurnK

It’s no mystery where the IMF was born but its origin story might surprise you. While the spotlight was on the charismatic British economist John Maynard Keynes during the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, a little-known American economist was working in the shadows. Harry Dexter White’s plan would lead to the creation of the IMF and forever change the world economy. In this podcast, IMF historian and author, James Boughton speaks with Rhoda Metcalfe about how Harry White made history without making a splash. Transcript: https://bit.ly/456YgLB Read the article in Finance and Development: IMF.org/fandd James Boughton is also the author of Harry Dexter White and the American Creed

While African countries have little to do with what’s causing the climate crisis, they are feeling the brunt of the extreme weather patterns and left footing a climate-mitigation bill they can’t afford. Michael Olabisi is an assistant professor at Michigan State University and studies sustainable development in low-income countries. In this podcast, Olabisi says climate change is a global challenge and it’s high time the world's advanced economies start treating it as such. Transcript: https://bit.ly/4ay37X7

When disaster strikes, the knee-jerk reaction is to seek public funds for , but private donors have the agility that governments often don’t. And while capital flows to Africa slowed to a trickle during the pandemic, philanthropy and remittances held steady. Una Osili is the Associate Dean for Research and International Programs at Indiana University and holds the Efroymson Chair in Philanthropy. Osili believes Africa would benefit from more private donor funding and more African women to manage it. In this podcast, Journalist Rhoda Metcalfe asks Dr. Osili about her work and why there aren’t more women economists on the continent. Transcript: https://bit.ly/4bhCfvP

Conflict disrupts lives and economies everywhere, but recent IMF analytical work suggests the economic impact of conflict in the Middle East and Central Asia has proven larger and more persistent than in other regions. In this podcast, Ghassan Salamé (SciencesPo Paris), Mark Malloch-Brown (Open Society Foundations), and Rola Dashti (UNESCWA) discuss how the recent scourge of conflict and instability requires innovative thinking. The was held during the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings and moderated by CNN International’s Julia Chatterley.

The World Economic Outlook is more than projected growth rates. The research behind those projections tells the story of how 190 countries, slowly but steadily, found their way through the fog of the past few years to emerge a testament to the resilience of the global economy. Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas is IMF Chief Economist and brings together the multitude of analytics, data and insight that provide the signposts. In this podcast, Gourinchas says while the fears of a global recession have not materialized, the path ahead is not without obstacles. Transcript: https://bit.ly/4b5O6x6  Read the full report at IMF.org

Sub-Saharan Africa is slowly emerging from four turbulent years with higher growth expected for nearly two thirds of countries in the region. But while inflation has almost halved and debt has broadly stabilized, economies are still grappling with financing shortages and impending debt repayments. Wenjie Chen is deputy head of the team that publishes the Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa. In this podcast, she says the surging global demand for critical minerals key to renewable energy systems could help the region overcome the ongoing funding squeeze.   Transcript: https://bit.ly/3WbU6iT  Read the full report at IMF.org

As inflation slowly subsides and optimism pervades financial markets, the latest Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) warns of potential setbacks. Fabio Natalucci and Jason Wu head the GFSR team. In this podcast, they discuss risks associated with debt and the private credit market, struggling real estate sectors in China and the US, cybersecurity, and a host of other risks to the much anticipated soft landing. Transcript: https://bit.ly/4axvy8z

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva kicks off the 2024 IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings from the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, with her customary curtain raiser speech. Go to IMF.org to follow the Annual Meetings and find all the IMF flagship reports, including the World Economic Outlook, the Global Financial Stability Report, and the Fiscal Monitor. Webcast and transcript: https://bit.ly/4aRkmDg

Even optimal economic policies create winners and losers, and that’s where politics steps in. Trade liberalization is an example of a policy that can make a country better off as a whole, but what happens to workers who lose out to cheaper goods? Jeffry Frieden says while politics is often messy, it’s how society puts a value on things economists can’t measure. Frieden is a Professor of Government at Harvard University. Transcript: https://bit.ly/4cU34qZ Read A Place for Politics at IMF.org/fandd

For decades, the standard labor market model has been ruled by supply and demand, but a younger generation of labor economists is questioning that approach. Suresh Naidu is a Professor of Economics and International Public Affairs at Columbia University. He says while the supply and demand model is not wrong, it only tells part of the story. In this podcast, Naidu and journalist Rhoda Metcalfe discuss why today’s labor market model sometimes fails to reflect the real world.  Transcript: https://bit.ly/4aHBqvz