Read more about the article The Reform of the Global Financial Architecture: Toward a System that Delivers for the South

The Reform of the Global Financial Architecture: Toward a System that Delivers for the South

The Policy Center for the New South and the Atlantic Council Africa Center have jointly released a report on “The Reform of the Global Financial Architecture: Toward a System that Delivers for the South,” by Otaviano Canuto, Hafez Ghanem, Youssef El Jai, and Stéphane Le Bouder. This report issues specific and urgent calls for reform, including more representative global governance, increasing the World Bank’s operational and financial capacity, prioritizing programs that would integrate Africa into the global economy, connecting the continent’s critical infrastructure and trade routes, and increasing participation and collaboration with bilateral public and private lenders and investors, such as China, sovereign wealth funds, and multinationals. 2024 marks eighty years of the Bretton Woods system. It is crucial to implement extensive reforms and substantial policies to support African nations’ efforts and maximize their chances to unleash their immense economic potential. These recommendations presented during the 2024 IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings reflect the urgency of both operational and more inclusive reforms for the African continent.

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Read more about the article 2 VIDEOS – Latin America and the multilateral world + Macroeconomic Policies in times of COVID-19 in Emerging Markets: Early Lessons

2 VIDEOS – Latin America and the multilateral world + Macroeconomic Policies in times of COVID-19 in Emerging Markets: Early Lessons

Latin America and the multilateral world — Otaviano Canuto Today's episode with Otaviano Canuto (ex World Bank, IMF, IDB) covers the current state of the region's economy, the role of multilateral organizations, Brazil's economic prospects and the post-COVID scenario for Latin America. ------------------- Macroeconomic Policies in times of COVID-19 in Emerging Markets: Early Lessons Moderator: Andrés Schipani, East and Central Africa Correspondent, Financial Times Speakers: - Otaviano Canuto, Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South - Karim El Aynaoui, President, Policy Center for the New South, Dean, Faculty of Governance, Economics and Social Sciences, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University - Célestin Monga, Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School

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Read more about the article Middle-income countries should not be rushed to graduate

Middle-income countries should not be rushed to graduate

Many donor countries seem eager to see middle-income countries “master out” and graduate to a non-client status in multilateral development institutions before fully achieving their development potential. We argue that such institutions can still significantly contribute to the sustainable development of Middle Income Countries, while also seizing many benefits from this relationship

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Read more about the article Middle Income Countries and Multilateral Development Banks: Traps on the Way to Graduation

Middle Income Countries and Multilateral Development Banks: Traps on the Way to Graduation

Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) have two financing windows, with different terms, dedicated to low- and middle-income countries. Countries are presumed to cross those windows as their income per capita rises, with middle-income countries (MICs) eventually “graduating” to a non-client status once they reach some criteria. However, due to what may be called “middle-income traps”, such progression toward graduation has been limited to a small number of countries. In this paper, we suggest areas where the support by MDBs would yield highest results toward “graduation” of MICs. Item 1 reviews the criteria that have been used to justify graduation, whereas item 2 approaches two ways by which the possibility of “middle-income traps” impeding such graduation has been discussed in the literature. Finally, item 3 proposes an interface between MDBs’ support to MICs and the policy agenda to overcome middle-income traps.

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Read more about the article New Challenges Faced by the Bretton Woods Institutions

New Challenges Faced by the Bretton Woods Institutions

In their 75 years of existence, the twin institutions born at the Bretton Woods Conference have undergone adaptation and transformation in response to the evolution of the world economy and the challenges it has posed to them. They will have to mutate and adapt to operate in a context of institutional fragmentation and possible arm-breaks between shareholders/members to continue fulfilling their missions.

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