Billions of uncollected tax dollars in developing countries could be used to lift more people out of poverty. In this podcast, Eric Postel, USAID’s Associate Administrator explains how redoubled efforts to improve tax systems worldwide are making a difference. Postel participated in seminar entitled Collect More & Spend Better at the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in April.

Contributors:

Eric Postel, Associate Administrator at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

If high commodity prices alone drove recent advances in Africa, the prospects for further gains seem dim. But in this podcast, Steven Radelet, says the reality is more complex, and the outlook is more varied than many now suggest. Radelet’s article, Africa’s Rise- Interrupted? is published in the June 2016 issue of Finance and Development magazine.

Contributors:

Steven Radelet, holds the Donald F. McHenry Chair in Global Human Development, and is Director of the Global Human Development Program at Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service.

Slumping Chinese demand has African economies scrambling to find alternate sources of revenue. In this podcast, we speak with Roger Nord, Deputy Director of the African Department in the IMF, and coauthor of A Fork in the Road, published in the June 2016 issue of Finance and Development magazine.

Contributors:

Roger Nord, IMF Deputy Director, African Department

Of the 5 million people fleeing civil war in Syria, more than a million have ended up in Jordan. The refugee crisis has hit host countries like Jordan hard. Imad Fakhoury, Jordan’s minister of planning, joined a seminar about Conflicts and the Refugee Crisis, at the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings. In this podcast, Fakhoury talks about the impacts of the refugee crisis on Jordan.

Contributors:

Imad Fakhoury, Jordan’s Minister of Planning and International Cooperation

As Nigeria’s Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun is charged with navigating Africa’s largest oil producer through the biggest oil price slump in decades. In this podcast, Adeosun talks about the need to diversify government revenues, and how inclusive growth can stem rising insecurity. Adeosun joined a panel discussion about sub-Saharan Africa during the IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings.

Contributors:

Kemi Adeosun, Nigeria’s Finance Minister

La dernière édition des Perspectives économiques régionales,prévoit que l’Afrique subsaharienne va connaître une deuxième annéedifficile à cause des multiples chocs qui frappent la région. Dansce podcast, Céline Allard, chef de la division des étudesrégionales au Département Afrique du FMI, discute les pointsessentiels du rapport.

Contributors: Céline Allard, chef de la division des étudesrégionales au Département Afrique du FMI

The IMF's latest regional economic outlook for Sub-SaharanAfrica predicts a second difficult year as the region is hit bymultiple shocks. In this podcast, co-author Céline Allard, says thesteep decline in commodity prices and tighter financing conditionshave put many large economies under severe strain.

Contributors: Céline Allard, Head of the Regional StudiesDivision in the IMF’s African Department

In this Podcast, we speak with Raghu Rajan, India’s central bank governor about the Global Financial Safety Net. Rajan is charged with securing monetary stability in one of the world’s largest Emerging Market economies, at a time when others are stumbling in the face of difficult global economic trends. Rajan participated in a seminar entitled Fortifying the Global Financial Safety Net, during the IMF-World Bank Spring meetings.

Contributors: Raghuram Rajan, Governor of the Reserve Bank of India

The new World Economic Outlook anticipates a slight acceleration in growth this year, from 3.1 to 3.2 percent, followed by 3.5 percent growth in 2017. But IMF Chief Economist Maurice Obstfeld says projections continue to be progressively less optimistic over time.

 Contributors:

Maurice Obstfeld, IMF Chief Economic Counselor

While many economists would argue public investment projects in highly efficient countries have a greater impact on growth, recent research by some IMF economists shows that’s not necessarily the case. In this podcast we speak with the IMF’s Andy Berg, who suggests the impact on growth from public investment spending is similar in both high and low-efficiency countries.

 Contributors:

Andy Berg, a Deputy Director in the IMF’s Institute for Capacity Development

Dans son dernier bilan, le FMI signale que l’économie gabonaise a été durement touchée par la chute des cours du pétrole. Dans ce podcast, nous nous entretenons avec Montfort Mlachila, chef de mission du FMI pour le Gabon. Il souligne que le pays peut accroître sa résilience et redynamiser la croissance en diversifiant son économie.

Montfort Mlachila, Chef de mission du FMI pour le Gabon.

The IMF’s most recent review of Gabon’s economy shows it’s been hit hard by the oil price decline. In this podcast, we speak with IMF Mission Chief for Gabon, Montfort Mlachila, who says the country can build resilience and revive growth by diversifying its economy.

Contributors:

Montfort Mlachila, IMF Mission Chief for Gabon

While it was widely expected that globalization would reduce inequality, income disparities between skilled and unskilled workers has only increased in recent years. In this podcast we ask Nobel Laureate Eric Maskin, why the global markets haven’t offered better economic opportunities for the world’s poorest. 

Contributors:

Eric Maskin, Professor at Harvard University, and 2007 Nobel Laureate.

On this International Woman’s Day, we speak with Nigerian economist Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Best known for her two terms as Nigeria’s Finance Minister and for her work as a Managing Director at the World Bank, Dr. Okonjo Iweala is always looking for ways to help bridge the gender gap.

Contributors:

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,

More than a million migrants have entered Europe this year according to the International Organization for Migration. In this podcast, we speak with Professor Barry Chiswick who says language acquisition is key to immigrant success. Chiswick says language skills among immigrants are a form of human capital, and can substantially increase potential earnings.

 

Contributors: 

Barry Chiswick, Professor of Economics and International Affairs at George Washington University

While many economies around the world should benefit from a growing US economy, a strong US dollar is seldom good news for emerging markets. In this podcast, we talk to IMF Senior Economist Nicolas Magud, coauthor of an article entitled Collateral Damage, published in the December 2015 issue of Finance and Development magazine.

The fabled mountain Kingdom of Lesotho achieved strong growth in recent years, but the IMF’s latest economic review shows growth rates have dropped. In this podcast, IMF mission chief for Lesotho, David Dunn, says slower growth in neighboring South Africa has significantly reduced Lesotho’s government revenues.

Ghana is considered one of West Africa’s most stable democracies, and until recently it was a model for economic growth. But since 2012, the economy has taken a turn for the worse, and Ghana is now getting help from the IMF. In this podcast, IMF Mission Chief, Joël Toujas-Bernaté talks about the country’s economic challenges.

The IMF released an update to its World Economic Outlook published in October 2015. The WEO Update, projects global growth to be slightly lower than last fall’s forecast, at 3.4 percent this year, and 3.6 percent in 2017. IMF Chief economist Maurice Obstfeld, launched the new report at a press conference in London.

As the world’s metropolises expand to accommodate more people, the earth’s supply of sand is being pushed to the limit. Deceptively abundant, the basic raw material for glass and concrete can’t keep up with demand. In this podcast, Pascal Peduzzi, of the United Nations Environmental Programme, talks about how our overdependence on sand is unsustainable.