IMF Podcasts

Manufacturing and industrialization have long been the development strategy for many countries in Asia. But while the approach has spurred growth and lifted millions out of poverty, most jobs remain in the untraded services sector. In this podcast, Dani Rodrik says that making employment in traditional, domestic services like food, hospitality, and gig work more productive will lead to a more inclusive growth model. Rodrik is Professor of International Political Economy at Harvard Kennedy School and co-directs its Reimagining the Economy program.

Read the article in the IMF's Finance & Development magazine: IMF.org/fandd

Today's South Korean economy is a far cry from what Ha-Joon Chang was born into. But growing up, he witnessed the remarkable transformation of a largely agrarian society into an industrial powerhouse, albeit under a military dictatorship. In this podcast, the economist and best-selling author describes living through South Korea's "economic miracle" like riding a time machine.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4gEDPfl

Read the article in Finance & Development: IMF.org/FANDD

Asia has been the poster child for moving farm workers into urban manufacturing jobs to increase productivity, but is that model still the growth path? In this podcast, IMF Asia and Pacific Department head Krishna Srinivasan discusses his Finance & Development article, "Asia's New Growth Model," based on a forthcoming book.

Inflation pressures were already brewing when Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas stepped in as IMF Chief Economist in January 2022, but rising geopolitical tensions soon added fuel to the fire, and inflation remained a challenge throughout his tenure. In this podcast, outgoing Chief Gourinchas reflects on four + years marked by trade tensions, geopolitical shocks, and rapid technological change. And how the value of forecasting lies less in precise point estimates and more in articulating the underlying forces and policy implications.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4oUrjvy

Inflation pressures were already brewing when Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas stepped in as IMF Chief Economist in January 2022, but rising geopolitical tensions soon added fuel to the fire, and inflation remained a challenge throughout his tenure. In this podcast, outgoing Chief Gourinchas reflects on four + years marked by trade tensions, geopolitical shocks, and rapid technological change. And how the value of forecasting lies less in precise point estimates and more in articulating the underlying forces and policy implications.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4oUrjvy

As geopolitical tensions rise, countries like to flex their economic muscle. But as appealing as they might be, sanctions, tariffs, and export bans come at a price. Jeffry Frieden is a professor of international and public affairs and political science at Columbia University. In this podcast, he says when economic and geopolitical relations become tightly connected, bad things can happen.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4vxZmfU

Read the article in Finance & Development: IMF.org/FANDD

Increased trade integration between economic superpowers shaped our globalized world, but that world we've known for the past three decades is becoming increasingly fragmented. What happens to those trade relationships when countries disengage? Michele Ruta is the IMF expert on trade and global imbalances. In this podcast, he says even strategic rivals can benefit from trade cooperation.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4ebXDW0

Read the article in Finance & Development magazine.

IMF.org/FANDD

State-owned enterprises have long been viewed by economists as a bad idea due to proven inefficiencies and mismanagement. But is handing over key resources and industries to the private sector really the answer? Economic historian Nicholas Mulder says, with all the geopolitical risks in the world of late, governments are looking for ways to keep essential resources under their control. Mulder is a professor of history at Cornell University. His article The New Wave of Nationalization was published in the June issue of Finance & Development magazine. In this podcast, Rhoda Metcalfe and Nicholas Mulder discuss the potential and risks of rising government ownership.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4wYy0R0

Read the article in Finance & Development magazine: IMF.org/fandd

As global powers face rising geopolitical tensions, sanctions, export controls, and tariffs are once again tools of leverage, marking the resurgence of geoeconomics, where economic policy and national security converge. This approach to business was largely abandoned by the West after the Cold War, though for most other countries, geopolitics and economics have always been closely linked. Josh Lipsky is the founding director of the GeoEconomics Center at the Atlantic Council, and Matteo Maggiori is a professor of finance at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. In this podcast, they discuss the new face of geoeconomics and its seemingly vengeful comeback.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4fe0G2a

Read the articles in Finance & Development magazine: IMF.org/fandd

The recent scramble for the minerals that go into our electric vehicles, solar panels, and defense systems has exposed vulnerabilities in the supply chains. Mineral markets are complex, spanning dozens of materials found around the world, but the real challenge is processing. More than 90 percent of rare earth minerals are currently processed in China. Gracelin Baskaran is the founding director of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. In this podcast, she says mineral security is not just a national security imperative, it's an economic security imperative.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4uBN1qu

Read the article in Finance & Development magazine

When global volatility increases, so does the demand for the dollar. When countries face sanctions, they rush for gold. But while the two have been the most common reserve currencies for decades, surprising alternatives are emerging. UC Berkeley professor and author Barry Eichengreen, along with IMF economists Chima Simpson-Bell and Serkan Arslanalp, track the dynamics of reserve currencies in their recent NBER paper. In this podcast, Eichengreen and Simpson-Bell discuss the changing landscape of reserve currencies.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/43ovB4o

When esteemed economist and author Eswar Prasad set out to write his latest book, it was to be about the promise of some recent trends within the world's economic and power structures, but he found something darker. The Doom Loop is about what happens when the positive forces that normally bring stability begin to work against each other. In this podcast, Prasad says that the dynamics of this negative feedback loop have led to the erosion of institutions across the globe.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4d5i8Df

While it is true that death and taxes are unavoidable, good tax policies can help delay the inevitable. So-called sin taxes on alcohol, tobacco, sugar, and other harmful products can raise revenues and reduce public healthcare spending. In this podcast, economist Christoph Rosenberg says sin taxes are relatively easy to collect and, done right, can nudge people towards healthier lifestyles.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4ttwKmI

Read the article Finance & Development magazine. IMF.org/fandd

African economies began tapping into overseas markets for funding in the early 2000s, after debt burdens had been alleviated by the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Initiative. However, surging interest rates on dollar- and euro-denominated loans in recent years have prompted countries to turn to domestic markets for their borrowing needs. Amadou Sy heads the IMF Regional Studies division. In this podcast, he says there are benefits to issuing debt in local markets and in local currency.

Transcript: https://traffic.libsyn.com/imfpodcast/Amadou_Sy-transcript-IMF_Podcast.pdf

Read the article at IMF.org/FandD

Unprecedented debt levels are pressing governments to make tough choices. While aging populations demand more public spending, resources are stretched thin, and the days of cheap borrowing that allowed the debt burden to be kicked down the road are behind us. Rodrigo Valdés and Era Dabla-Norris head the IMF Fiscal Affairs department and write about high debt and hard choices in the March edition of Finance & Development magazine. In this podcast, they say the erosion of public trust is a factor in reconciling competing fiscal priorities.

Transcript: https://traffic.libsyn.com/imfpodcast/Valdes-Dabla-Norris-AUDIO-transcript-IMF_Podcast.pdf

Read the article at IMF.org/fadd

The most prosperous of civilizations were the most open. The Romans, for example, expanded their empire by integrating the populations they conquered, creating a melting pot of new ideas. Johan Norberg's latest book, Peak Human, examines the rise and fall of seven golden age civilizations. In this podcast, he says that if openness to learning and trade are what great societies make, building walls to protect their dominance often sparks their demise. Norberg is a historian and senior fellow at the Cato Institute.

Transcript: https://traffic.libsyn.com/imfpodcast/Johan_Norberg-transcript-IMF_Podcast.pdf

Read the article Finance & Development: IMF.org/fandd

There is strength in numbers, and the idea of European integration through a single market was to capitalize on the EU as a whole. However, the single market is a product of the early 90s, and EU member states now appear reticent to pool sovereignty to the degree required to counter the geopolitical challenges of today's world. Enrico Letta is President of the Jacques Delors Institute and a champion of Delors' vision of creating a fully integrated European economic space. Letta's 2024 report, Much More than a Market, argues that adaptation of the single market should include all sectors rather than a select few and that fragmentation is holding Europe back.

Transcript: https://traffic.libsyn.com/imfpodcast/Enrico_Letta-transcript-IMF_Podcast.pdf

While official statistics compiled by government agencies are still considered the most reliable, policymakers are increasingly using private data to get around their limitations. Claudia Sahm is a former principal economist at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and has studied the growing role of alternative data in monetary policy. In this podcast, Sahm says the immediacy and granularity of private company data should serve as a complement to traditional data, not as a substitute.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/3MH31X6

Read the article at IMF.org/fandd

Price stability is the main goal for central banks, and monetary policy is how they achieve it. However, societies are always in flux, and central bankers who pay close attention to emerging trends are more likely to make better policy decisions. Bank of Korea Governor Chang Yong Rhee has expanded the scope of research to include structural issues like population aging to better understand the changing dynamics of Korea's economy. Before becoming Governor in 2022, Mr. Rhee held several senior roles in global financial institutions, including the IMF, where he led the Asia and Pacific Department.

While artificial intelligence continues to outperform our human abilities in many areas, Pablo Peña believes critical thinking and curiosity are what will keep us in the driver's seat. AI can only draw on human-produced knowledge, Peña says, "The version of AI that we know now is only a sophisticated remix of what we know already." Peña is an associate professor of economics at the University of Chicago and author of Human Capital for Humans: An Accessible Introduction to the Economic Science of People. In this Podcast, Peña and journalist Rhoda Metcalfe discuss his article in the December issue of Finance & Development magazine.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4ptL4cE

Read the article at IMF.org/FANDD

Technology is often what drives big changes, but innovations like cryptocurrencies and blockchain are transforming the world of money at breakneck speed. While the volatility of digital currencies like Bitcoin has kept it out of traditional banking systems, stablecoin is gaining ground in the race for a suitable digital counterpart to fiat currency. Dante Disparte heads strategy and global policy at Circle, which issues two of the world's most widely used stablecoins. In this podcast, he says stablecoin money can help overcome inefficiencies in the traditional banking system without compromising financial security.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4odNIlK

Maintaining good relations promotes trade, but can trade repair bad relations? Marc Palen examines how Britain's repeal of the Corn Laws in the mid-1800s sparked its interest in free trade and the idea of economic interdependence for a peaceful and prosperous world. Palen, an archaeologist, historian, and author, discusses his latest book, Pax Economica: Left-Wing Visions of a Free World. In this podcast, he talks with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe about his research into the origins of globalization.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4ra9n0O

Read the article at IMF.org/FANDD

Sub-Saharan Africa is holding its own despite a deteriorating global trade and aid landscape. The latest outlook projects growth to remain steady at 4.1 percent this year with a modest pickup in 2026. While the region has once again proven its resilience, what will it take to realize its full potential? IMF Economist Athene Laws helps pull together the biannual Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa. In this podcast, she says removing barriers to private firm growth is crucial for providing the jobs needed by the region's young and rapidly expanding labor force.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4i7F6vt

Read the full report at IMF.org

It's not unusual for countries to reevaluate trade relationships as the global economy evolves. However, the persistent uncertainty brought on by tariffs has prompted entire regions to reconsider long-established alliances and rethink new ones that were unimaginable only a year ago. Gordon Hanson, international economist and Professor of Urban Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, was invited to join a panel discussion on the global economy during the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings. In this podcast, Hanson says, we need to reinvigorate the process of building new trade agreements that reflect the new world, and middle- and newly high-income countries should play a leading role.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4qT4LvS

While the US dollar has been at the top of its game for decades, new players are testing its reign. Chess grandmaster-turned-economist Kenneth Rogoff has long cautioned of the dangers that high debt and fiscal burdens could have on the world's favorite reserve currency, and in his latest book, Our Dollar, Your Problem, he says its share of global reserves may be on the decline. Kenneth Rogoff is currently the Maurits C. Boas Chair of International Economics at Harvard.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/3WXdHCZ

The latest Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa suggests better policy design could help countries increase tax revenues by as much as 5 percent of GDP. Alex Segura heads the IMF team for Gabon, and led the team of economists who wrote the chapter on raising revenues in the report. In this podcast, Segura says when people perceive that the tax system is fair, they're much more likely to accept their tax obligations.

Alex Segura is an Advisor in the IMF's African department.

Studying the market for salt in 19th century India and the effects on trade of a railroad built 150 years ago led economist Dave Donaldson to important new findings that are relevant today. Donaldson was the 2017 John Bates Clark Medalist, awarded for the most significant contributions by an economist under the age of 40. In this podcast, Donaldson talks about his work on trade and how it benefits economic welfare.

A profile of Dave Donaldson, Sherlock of Trade is featured in the June 2018 edition of Finance and Development Magazine.

Dave Donaldson is professor of economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

As economic advisor to the government of India, Arvind Subramanian helped design the country's goods and services tax. In July of last year, the national GST replaced the patchwork of value-added, sales, and excise taxes levied by 29 states and the federal government. In this podcast, Subramanian discusses the benefits of the new tax with the IMF's Chris Wellisz. He says the tax helped create a single internal market for the first time since independence. Their conversation is also featured in the June 2018 edition of Finance and Development Magazine.

Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Advisor to the government of India

Estonians rarely stand in line for anything anymore. Estonia ranks among the most digitally advanced countries in the world and virtually all government services are now offered online. Estonia is also where Skype was born. In this podcast, Estonia's Chief Information Officer, Siim Sikkut talks about how technology has transformed Estonia's economy, and an e-residency program that is wooing more start-ups. Read more about Estonia's remarkable digitalization process in the March 2018 issue of Finance and Development Magazine.

Siim Sikkut is Estonia's Chief Information Officer.

With public debt on the rise in sub-Saharan Africa, boosting the private sector has become more important than ever. Zhi Yong Heng is a private investor for TLG Capital, an investment firm that focusses on equity opportunities in Africa. In this podcast, Heng says investors are missing out on great investment opportunities because of misperceptions of the risks and the business environment in the region. The latest Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa devotes an entire chapter on private investment.

Zhi Yong Heng is Head of Special Situations at TLG Capital

The latest Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa shows a modest uptick in growth largely driven by stronger global growth and higher commodity prices. In this podcast the IMF's Papa N'Diaye, says it's time to implement reforms that will firm up the recovery. The study shows growth picking up from 2⅔ percent in 2017 to 3½ percent in 2018. N'Diaye heads the team of IMF economists who write the report and he says the uptick is good news for the region which has been experiencing a slowdown in economic growth over the last few years.

When people trust their government, good things happen. They're much more likely to pay their taxes and support those large infrastructure investment projects that help economic growth. A new IMF paper on the institution's role in governance issues shows that high corruption means less growth and more inequality. In this podcast, Lea Giménez Duarte talks about how Paraguay has benefited from a transparency law introduced in 2015. Giménez Duarte is Paraguay's first ever woman finance minister, and joined a panel about transparency and corruption during the IMF World-Bank Spring Meetings.

Lea Giménez Duarte is Paraguay's Finance Minister

The Global Financial Stability Report, or GFSR, is published twice a year and looks at the risks facing the global financial system. The objective is to prevent future crises by highlighting policies that might help mitigate some of those risks. In this podcast, the IMF's Fabio Natalucci suggests investors stay attuned to risks associated with rising interest rates and protectionism. Natalucci heads the team of economists who write the overview chapter of the GFSR. The report also looks at crypto-assets for the first time.

Fabio Natalucci, is a Deputy Director in the IMF's Monetary and Capital Markets Department.

While the word hack sounds nefarious there's nothing sinister about a hackathon. It is a creative brainstorming event that brings together people from the private sector, government, academia, civil society and technical experts to devise solutions to help governments raise revenues. In this podcast, economist Katherine Baer talks about her recent experience in hackathons in Senegal, Uganda and Ivory Coast, and how new technologies can help those governments collect more taxes.

Katherine Baer, Division Chief, IMF Fiscal Affairs department.

Economic shocks and climate change increase the risk of conflict. If current trends continue, 80 percent of the world's poorest people will live in fragile states by the year 2030. This means the work of development will increasingly be about how to prevent conflict and how to achieve positive change in post-conflict and fragile states. In this podcast, DfID's chief economist Rachel Glennerster, says economists need to get better at understanding these risks and predicting conflict. Before joining the UK's Department for International Development, Glennerster was Executive Director of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab. She was invited to speak at the IMF where she once worked as an economist.

Rachel Glennerster, Chief Economist of the United Kingdom's Department for International Development- DfID.

Some economists would argue that extreme weather can increase criminal behavior by reducing incomes—especially in the agriculture sector. But in this podcast, economist Gordon McCord says the psychological effect of higher temperatures on violent behavior plays a prominent role. McCord is coauthor of a study that uses data from homicides in Mexico spanning 15 years, and considers the impact of a cash transfer program on reducing interpersonal violence on hot days. He presented his research at the 2018 American Economic Association's Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.

Gordon McCord, is assistant Professor at the School of Global Policy and Strategy at the University of California in San Diego. https://twitter.com/gcmccord

Promoting gender equality can be an economic game changer. The IMF's latest economic review of Nigeria's economy says closing the gender gap would mean higher growth and productivity, and greater economic stability. In this podcast, IMF economist and coauthor, Monique Newiak, says Nigerian women could help transform the economy given the chance. The report says Nigeria suffers from wide-spread gender inequality and is therefore missing out on a key ingredient to economic success. Newiak says reducing gender inequality could boost growth by one and one-quarter percent on average.

Monique Newiak, is an economist in the IMF's Africa department and coauthor of Nigeria's latest economic review, that includes a study on The Macroeconomic Costs of Gender Inequality in Nigeria.

Nigeria's economy is picking up according to the IMF's latest economic review. Growth hit 0.8 percent in 2017 after contracting by 1.6 percent in 2016. The report attributes the increase—in part—to the recent recovery in oil prices. But as the country emerges from recession, the IMF's Amine Mati says following through on planned reforms regardless of oil price swings and upcoming elections, is key to lifting Nigeria's growth rates to where they should be. Mati heads the IMF team for Nigeria and oversaw this latest economic assessment.

Amine Mati, International Monetary Fund's mission chief and senior resident representative in Nigeria.

Major discoveries of oil and gas deposits have always been cause for celebration in developing countries, in anticipation of the potential financial windfall. But research has shown that countries with abundant revenues from natural resources often tend to have less economic growth and more social problems than do non-resource-rich countries. And in this podcast, World Bank economist James Cust says in many cases, economic growth begins to underperform long before the first drop of oil is ever produced. Cust and David Mihalyi of the Natural Resource Governance Institute, coauthored The Presource Curse, published in the December 2017 edition of the IMF's Finance and Development magazine.

James Cust is an economist in the Office of the Chief Economist for Africa at the World Bank and an external research associate at the University of Oxford.

Incomes for Europe's youth declined after the 2007 global financial crisis—largely due to unemployment. And while things have recovered somewhat, the trend toward short-term work and less stable jobs has meant incomes have not grown and young people are now more likely to fall into poverty. Meanwhile, Europeans 65 and older have seen incomes increase by 10 percent. New research by IMF staff looks at this Growing Inequality and Poverty Across Generations in Europe, and how it could have long term effects on Europe's economy. In this podcast, coauthor Alexander Pitt says when the young are better off, we're all better off.

Alexander Pitt, Senior Economist in the IMF's European department, and co-author of A Dream Deferred: Inequality and Poverty Across Generations in Europe.

In the new world of lower commodity prices, many sub-Saharan African countries are having to diversify their economies. And while sub-Saharan Africa has had periods of rapid growth, the process by which workers move from low-productivity jobs to better paying higher productivity jobs has been slower than in other regions. The IMF's latest Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa devotes an entire chapter to studying the potential benefits of a stepped-up diversification agenda. In this podcast, co-author Axel Schimmelpfennig says Africa's young entrepreneurs should be at the heart of the diversification process.

Axel Schimmelpfennig, IMF Mission Chief for Uganda

Populism has become a bit of a buzz word of late. It's often at the very center of debates about politics and elections. But what about the economic implications of populism? That was the subject of a seminar at this year's American Economic Association's Annual Meeting. The panel was organized by the IMF's Antonio Spilimbergo, and included economic heavyweights Dani Rodrik, Raghuram Rajan, and political scientist Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser. In this Podcast, Kaltwasser says populism is creeping into economic policy.

Cristóbal Rovira Kaltwasser is an Associate Professor in Political Science at Diego Portales University in Chile, and co-author of Populism: A Very Short Introduction.

While technology is reshaping economies around the world, a recent book published by the World Bank suggests developing countries are missing out on a huge opportunity. In this podcast, economist William Maloney, says the potential returns on investment into Research and Development by developing countries are astounding, and could dwarf international aid flows. Yet, developing country firms and governments invest very little toward realizing this potential. Maloney is Chief Economist for Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions in the World Bank Group, and co-author of The Innovation Paradox. He was a guest lecturer at the IMF's Developing Economies Seminar Series.

William F. Maloney is Chief Economist for Equitable Growth, Finance and Institutions in the World Bank Group

There are many layers to development. Sometimes there's a need where the solution is not at all obvious. But other times it's simply about connecting the dots- when the solution is available but out of reach due to the lack of infrastructure like roads, power lines or telephone wires. Technology is helping connect those dots more than ever before, and the phenomenon has come to be known as leapfrogging. In this podcast, we hear from the people behind Zipline, a start-up that uses drones to make emergency blood deliveries to remote clinics in Rwanda.

Keller Rinaudo, Founder and CEO of Zipline, and Matthew Steckman, Chief Revenue Officer.

Gross domestic product, or GDP, is the one statistic that almost everyone knows is used to measure economic growth. But in this podcast, economist Diane Coyle suggests GDP may be a poor measure of prosperity. With all the technological advances in recent years one would expect that economies have become more productive. But when measured in GDP the numbers show the opposite is true. Coyle refers to this phenomenon as the productivity puzzle, and says the mismeasurement of digital activities within the economy has a lot to do with it. Coyle is Professor of Economics at the University of Manchester, and spoke at the IMF Statistical forum on Measuring the Digital Economy.

Diane Coyle, Professor of Economics at the University of Manchester, and author of GDP: A Brief but Affectionate History

Read her blog The Enlightened Economist

2 years after 195 countries came together under the Paris Agreement to combat the effects of climate change, leading climate economist Nicholas Stern remains cautiously optimistic. In his landmark report on the impact of climate change published in 2006, Stern warned that the cost of inaction would be far greater for future generations than the costs of actions taken to reduce carbon emissions. In this podcast, Stern says while the world "passed the test" when signing the Paris Agreement, he worries that policy makers will not act quickly enough. Stern joined a panel discussion on the economic and financial issues related to climate change at the IMF World-Bank Annual meetings.

Nicholas Stern, Professor of Economics and Government at the London School of Economics, and Chairman of its Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.

Blockchain technology is a shared, public ledger of transactions that's open to inspection but not subject to any form of central control. And while it offers potential for a variety of applications, its most famous is providing the platform for virtual currencies like bitcoin. Peter Smith is co-founder and CEO of Blockchain, and in this podcast, he talks about the evolution of crypto currency financial systems and what it could mean for big data analytics. Smith was the keynote speaker at the IMF's Fifth Statistical forum on Measuring the Digital Economy.

Peter Smith, co-founder and CEO of Blockchain.

For much of the past century the 9 to 5 job with benefits at a firm was what most people associated with financial stability. But as technology reshapes the labor market, more people are branching out on their own. A new report by Freelancers Union says freelancers will be the majority of the US workforce within 10 years if the current trend continues. In this podcast, Sara Horowitz, Executive Director of Freelancers Union, says freelancers are adapting to the changing nature of work.

Sara Horowitz, founder and Executive Director of Freelancers Union

In September 2017, the Caribbean was hit by the most powerful Atlantic hurricane in recorded history. Irma's 185 mile per hour winds left several countries devastated. During a seminar on sovereign debt at the IMF World-Bank Annual meetings, Grenada's Prime Minister and chair of CARICOM, Keith Mitchell, said catastrophe risk insurance could help vulnerable countries mitigate some of the risk from increasingly severe weather patterns.

Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada and chair of the Caribbean Community CARICOM

When the government of India last year declared that much of its currency in circulation would cease to be legal tender, digital transactions surged. Mobile payment platforms like PayTM stepped in to fill the void, and in the process­ are providing financial services to millions of people unable to open a traditional bank account. In this podcast, PayTM's Madhur Deora, says financial technology is having an impact on India's development. Deora joined a seminar about Fintech, during the IMF World-Bank Annual Meetings.

Contributors:

Madhur Deora, PayTM Chief Financial Officer

The IMF's latest regional economic outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa suggests the broad-based slowdown in sub-Saharan Africa is easing. In this podcast, co-author Jarek Wieczorek, says growth is up slightly from last year, but so is public debt. "If we maintain the trend we saw in the last 3 years, the debt will become unsustainable in many sub-Saharan African countries."

Contributors: Jarek Wieczorek, Head of the Regional Studies Division in the IMF's African Department

Les dernières perspectives de l'Afrique subsaharienne portent à croire que le ralentissement généralisé s'atténue. Dans ce podcast, coauteur Jarek Wieczorek, explique la croissance s'accélère, mais la dette publique augmente aussi. « Si la tendance actuelle persiste, la dette deviendra insoutenable dans plusieurs de pays ».

Jarek Wieczorek, chef de la division des études régionales au Département Afrique du FMI

As new technology rapidly transforms the financial services sector, central bankers are faced with mitigating risks without stifling innovation. But In this podcast, South Africa's Central Bank Governor, Lesetja Kganyago, says inflation, currency depreciation, and political uncertainty remain his biggest challenges. Kganyago joined a panel discussion on what Fintech means for central banking during the 2017 IMF World-Bank Annual Meetings in Washington.

Contributors:

Lesetja Kganyago, Governor of the South African Reserve Bank

@KganyagoLesetja

The latest forecasts from the International Monetary Fund show global growth is on the rise. A very different picture from early last year, when the world economy faced faltering growth and financial market turbulence. In this podcast, IMF Chief Economist Maurice Obstfeld, delves into the current trends behind this recent upswing.

Contributors:

Maurice Obstfeld, IMF Director of Research, and Economic Counsellor.

The technological revolution has far reaching implications and is rapidly changing the way the world does business. But technology also offers the potential for finding solutions to some of the challenges facing the global economy. To encourage creative thinking among its economists, the IMF recently opened an innovation lab. In this podcast, Tristan Walker, first iLab Chief, says innovation will help make the institution more agile.

Contributors:

Tristan Walker, Innovation Lab Unit Chief

80 percent of the world's energy consumption is based on fossil fuels which account for most of the greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet. Climate change is affecting the global economy and has become a defining feature in energy policy making. In this podcast, International Energy Agency Chief Economist, Laszlo Varro, says while efforts to reduce carbon emissions are generally off track, technological progress and investment momentum in the clean energy sector are reasons for optimism.

Contributors:

Laszlo Varro, Chief Economist for the International Energy Agency

Good data and statistics can help drive economies and are the basis for sound policy decisions in both private and public sectors. The advent of 'big data' poses opportunities for private companies and public institutions to better understand today`s economic and social trends. A new study by the IMF shows how big data can also provide valuable insight for economic and financial analysis. In this podcast, coauthor Diane Kostroch discusses the benefits and the challenges that come with big data.

Contributors:

Diane Kostroch, IMF economist, Statistics Department.

Dans ce podcast, Randa Filfili, directrice générale de l'entreprise sénégalaise Zena Exotic Fruits raconte pourquoi les petites et moyennes entreprises africaines ont souvent du mal à survivre, et les défis auxquels font face les femmes entrepreneurs. Filfili était de passage à Washington pour participer dans le séminaire intitule, Comment renouer avec une croissance vigoureuse en Afrique subsaharienne dans le cadre des Réunions de Printemps du FMI et du groupe Banque Mondiale.

Randa Filfili, directrice générale de l'entreprise sénégalaise Zena Exotic Fruits.

Only a third of adults in sub-Saharan Africa have a bank account, and in this podcast, Tanzania Bank Governor, Benno Ndulu, says the lack of access to financial services is a key constraint on the region's economic growth. Ndulu is a champion for bringing financial services to the poorest segments of society and as the current Chair of the Board of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, he has helped pioneer some of the most innovative policy approaches to extending the financial system to the unbanked. This conversation with Benno Ndulu is featured in the September 2017 issue of Finance and Development Magazine.

Contributors: Benno Ndulu, Bank of Tanzania Governor, and Chair of the Board of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion.

While Africa's workforce expands, the lack of modern and efficient infrastructure is inhibiting economic growth. The prospect of building power plants and transportation networks is daunting for many countries with limited resources, but in this podcast, former Chief Economist of the African Development Bank, Mthuli Ncube, says reducing risks for private sector investors could help Africa build the infrastructure it so desperately needs.

Contributors:

Mthuli Ncube, Managing Director of Quantum Global Research Lab, visiting professor at Oxford University, and co-editor of Infrastructure in Africa: Lessons for Future Development.

Extreme weather has hit Malawi's economy hard over the last two years. Severe flooding followed by a drought—the worst in its history—caused widespread crop failure and placed 6.7 million people at risk of starvation. But a remarkable humanitarian effort helped reduce the impact of the drought on the most vulnerable segment of the population. An increase by the IMF to the amount of resources it provides to Malawi, as well as sizable contributions from Malawi's development partners like the World Food Program and the World Bank, enabled the country to address the worst humanitarian crisis in its history.

In this feature podcast, we hear from the small-scale farmers beset by the effects of climate change, beneficiaries of food aid including school children, and key players within the various agencies who were faced with making tough decisions in the throes of a major food crisis.

Contributors:

Oral Williams: IMF Mission Chief for Malawi

Jack Ree: IMF Resident Representative in Malawi

Goodall Gondwe: Malawi's Finance Minister

Ben Botolo: Malawi's Secretary to the Treasury

Coco Ushiyama: World Food Program Representative for Malawi

Roisin DeBurca: Unicef's Deputy Director for Malawi

Laura Kullenberg: Country Manager for the World Bank in Malawi

Richard Record: Senior Country Economist for the World Bank in Malawi

As China's economy catches up in size with that of the United States, some predict the renminbi will soon challenge the dollar's dominance in international finance. But in this podcast, Cornell University's Eswar Prasad says there are limits to how far China's currency can go without undertaking significant domestic reforms. Prasad, a former IMF economist himself, was invited to IMF headquarters in Washington to talk about his latest book Gaining Currency: The Rise of the Renminbi

Contributors:

Eswar Prasad, Professor of Trade Policy and Economics at Cornell University, Senior Fellow at the Brookings institution, and author.

Drought, regional conflict, and slow credit growth are taking their toll on Uganda's economy. While per-capita growth has hovered around 5 percent for the last 20 years, the IMFs latest economic assessment shows it has fallen to 1/2 percent. In this podcast, the report's coauthor Axel Schimmelpfennig, says some strategic infrastructure investment and Uganda's untapped oil reserves could help turn things around.

Contributors: Axel Schimmelpfennig, IMF Mission Chief for Uganda

By 2035 sub-Saharan Africa will have more working-age people than the rest of the world's regions combined. This growing workforce bulge will have to be met with jobs, but the region remains one of the toughest places to do business. Meanwhile, small-unregistered household businesses provide up to 90 percent of jobs outside of agriculture. The IMF's latest Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa devotes an entire chapter on the informal economy, and in this podcast we speak with economist Ali Mansoor, coauthor of the study.

Contributors:

Ali Mansoor, IMF Division Chief for West Africa, and coauthor of the report.

More than two billion people worldwide are without bank accounts, and only one in three adults in sub-Saharan Africa have access to any type of financial services. But Tayo Oviosu, Founder of Nigeria's leading mobile payment platform says financial technology—or fintech, is making access to finance possible for millions of un-banked Nigerians.

Tayo Oviosu, Founder and CEO of Paga, Nigeria's mobile payment platform.

Watch webcast of IMF World-Bank Spring meetings panel on Digital Financial Inclusion

While science and technology propel us into the future at what some would describe as breakneck speed, Oxford University's Ian Goldin says we should draw from the past because we've been here before. In this podcast, Goldin compares the social division, political extremism and insecurity of the first Age of Discovery in the 15th Century, with what is happening today.

Contributors:

Ian Goldin, founding director of the Oxford Martin School, and Professor of Globalization and Development at Oxford University.

While millions of young people enter the labor market every year, the chance of landing a traditional full-time job with benefits are getting slim. Global youth unemployment is on the rise and many young people are opting to work in what's known as the sharing economy. In this podcast, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde shares her thoughts about policies that might help today's youth better adapt to the changing nature of work.

Read Christine Lagarde's Straight Talk about millennials and the future of work, in the June 2017 edition of Finance and Development magazine.

Contributors:

Christine Lagarde, IMF Managing Director

The IMF's Special Drawing Rights have failed to gain real traction in the international monetary system, but Mohamed El-Erian, Chief Economic Advisor at Allianz and former IMF Deputy Director, believes a greater role for the SDR in global markets could help strengthen the world economy.

Contibutors:

Mohamed El-Erian, Chief Economic Advisor at Allianz and former IMF Deputy Director.

FinTech—or financial technology—is poised to revolutionize how the world does business. It could open new kinds of markets to many more people, but it could also threaten our financial privacy or make illicit financial transactions easier. In this podcast, Fintech expert Patrick Murck describes the coming transformation and its pitfalls.

Contributors:

Patrick Murck, fellow at the Harvard Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, and a Special Counsel at Cooley LLP.

The IMF's latest regional economic outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa shows growth has fallen to its lowest level in twenty years. In this podcast, co-author Céline Allard, says while some countries like Senegal and Kenya continue to experience growth rates higher than 6 percent, growth has slowed for two thirds of countries in the region bringing down average growth in 2016 to 1.4 percent.

Contributors: Céline Allard, Head of the Regional Studies Division in the IMF's African Department

La dernière édition des Perspectives économiques régionales, indique que la croissance en Afrique subsaharienne est tombée à son plus bas niveau depuis plus de 20 ans. Dans ce podcast, coauteur Céline Allard, explique si certains pays continuent d'enregistrer une croissance supérieure à 6 %, l'expansion a ralenti dans deux tiers des pays de la région, ce qui a réduit la croissance moyenne à 1,4 % en 2016.

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

The labor force 30 years from now will look very different as working-age populations in advanced economies start to shrink. While some today worry they'll lose their jobs to robots, economists like Google's Hal Varian, wonder if technology will boost productivity enough to compensate for the shifting demographics. Varian, and Harvard's David Canning, discussed the topic during an IMF World-Bank Spring Meetings seminar earlier this month.

Hal Varian, Google's Chief Economist and an Emeritus Professor at UC Berkeley.

David Canning, Professor of Population Sciences, Economics and Intl Health, Harvard University, Department of Global Health and Population.

The IMF's latest World Economic Outlook projects global growth at 3.5 percent in 2017 and 3.6 percent in 2018. In this podcast, IMF Chief Economist Maurice Obstfeld says global growth is gaining momentum.

Contributors:

Maurice Obstfeld, IMF Economic Counselor

The 2008 global financial crisis exposed the vulnerability of banks that do not hold enough capital. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision has since revised capital requirements for banks. In this podcast, we ask IMF economist Lev Ratnovski, how much capital banks need to hold to avert another crisis.

Contributors:

Lev Ratnovski, Senior Economist in the IMF's Research Department.

Muna AbuSulayman, is founder and co-host of the most popular social issues program on Arab television. Kalam Nawaem tackles controversial topics and has been pushing social boundaries in the region for 15 years. In this podcast, AbuSulayman says Arab women should be free to achieve their goals without cultural or economic barriers.

Contributors:

Muna AbuSulayman, Co-founder of Meedan.com, a news hub for Arab youth and women.

Labor unions around the world are having to adapt to a fast changing labor market. John Evans heads the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD, and represents some 65 million organized workers worldwide. In this podcast, Evans says workers are caught in the middle of rapid technological change and slow global growth.

Contributors:

John Evans, General Secretary of the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD.

As the Group of Twenty finance ministers and central bank governors meet in Germany this week, policymakers are looking at ways to increase investment in Africa. ONE Campaign's Jamie Drummond says investing into the education, employment and empowerment of this generation of Africans will help create jobs and curb migration into Europe.

Contributors:

Jamie Drummond, Co-Founder and Executive Director of The ONE Campaign

Global trade union leaders gathered at the IMF in February to discuss how workers are being impacted by the changing global economy. In this podcast, Hilma Mote, of the African Region's International Trade Union Confederation talks about the challenges African youth, especially women are facing with the continent's rapidly growing labor force.

Contributors:

Hilma Mote, Executive Director of the Africa Labor research and education Institute, ITUC-Africa.

There is a strong connection between human capital and economic growth, and in this podcast, Eric Hanushek says societies that invest a lot in the cognitive skills of their people grow significantly faster. Hanushek studies the relationship between education policy and economic outcomes at Stanford University.

Contributors:

Eric Hanushek, Paul and Jean Hanna Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. http://hanushek.stanford.edu/

In this podcast we speak with author Alec Ross about his new book The Industries of the Future. Ross says 90 percent of the world's data has been produced in the last two years, so those businesses that own or harvest a meaning from all this data will be leading the pack. Ross has served as Senior Advisor for Innovation to the US Secretary of State.

Contributors:

Alec Ross, Distinguished Senior Fellow at Johns Hopkins University.

Every two years, the IMF and World-Bank invites global labor union leaders to discuss the global economy and the implications for the labor force. In this podcast, Sharan Burrow, head of the world's largest trade union federation, says collective action is needed to help better distribute the benefits of growth, if institutions are to regain trust from working people.

Contributors:

Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation.

With Asia's recent growth comes a growing responsibility within the global economy. In this podcast, Barry Eichengreen, Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley, breaks down the weight of that responsibility and how Asia can rise to fulfill it.

Contributors:

Barry Eichengreen, George C. Pardee and Helen N. Pardee Professor of Economics and Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley.

While many African countries have enjoyed significant revenues from the mining industry in recent years, a new study published by the Natural Resource Governance Institute suggests tax revenues from mining could be much higher if transfer pricing rules were enforced. In this podcast, we speak with the report's author Alexandra Readhead.

Contributors:

Alexandra Readhead, author of Preventing Tax Base Erosion in Africa

Corruption, in its many forms, affects people from every walk of life, in every country. While it does not discriminate based on age, young people are affected by corruption in ways that can follow them throughout their careers. In this podcast, anti-corruption leader Sergejus Muravjovas, talks about the ways in which youth are fighting back.

Contributors:

Sergejus Muravjovas, Executive Director at Transparency International Lithuania and founder of TransparencySchool.org

New York Times columnist and best-selling author Thomas Friedman, says our lives are being transformed in so many realms at once- it's dizzying. In this podcast, Friedman talks about his new book, Thank You for Being Late, An Optimist's Guide to Thriving in the Age of Accelerations.

Contributors:

Thomas Friedman, New York Times columnist and best-selling author.

Julie Delahanty has done extensive work on the disenfranchisement of women due to the lack of equal opportunity. Delahanty is the Executive Director of Oxfam Canada, and joined a panel discussion during the IMF conference on Reducing the Gender Gap. In this podcast, Delahanty says vulnerable women are the most negatively affected by rising inequality.

Contributors:

Julie Delahanty, Executive Director of Oxfam Canada

Who benefits from free trade and who doesn't? The realities don't always match people's perceptions. In this podcast, economist and free trade expert Douglas Irwin addresses some of the controversies. Irwin participated in a seminar entitled Making Trade an Engine of Growth for All at this year's IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings.

Contributors:

Douglas Irwin, John Sloan Dickey Third Century Professor in Social Sciences in the Department of Economics at Dartmouth College

Ravi Kanbur says statistics are fundamentally political in nature and in import. Kanbur is Professor of Economics at Cornell University and gave the keynote speech at the Fourth IMF Statistical forum on Statistics for Inclusive Growth, held in November 2016. In this podcast, Kanbur says data doesn't always reflect reality when it comes to poverty and inequality.

Contributors:

Ravi Kanbur: T. H. Lee Professor of World Affairs and Professor of Economics at Cornell University.

Globalization is a recent term, but the internationalization of markets, people, ideas, and cultures is nothing new. In this podcast, IMF historian Harold James, talks about how the past might help guide us into the future. James is Professor of History and International Affairs at Princeton University, and author of New Concept Old Reality published in the December 2016 edition of Finance and Development magazine.

Contributors:

Harold James, Professor of History and International Affairs at Princeton University and IMF Historian

Esther Duflo, Professor of Development Economics at MIT, co-founded The Poverty Lab to find innovative approaches to poverty alleviation. In this podcast, Duflo says all economic and social dimensions of poverty must be considered in order to effectively address the problem. Duflo presented the 2016 Richard Goode lecture at the IMF earlier this month.

Contributors:

Esther Duflo: Abdul Latif Jameel Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The IMF's latest Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa dedicates an entire chapter on what a drought, an earthquake or a pandemic can do to a country's economy. In this podcast, lead authors Marshall Mills and Vimal Thakoor say natural disasters have a much bigger impact in sub-Saharan Africa than any other region.

Contributors:

Marshall Mills: Economist and Mission Chief for Madagascar, IMF African Department.

Vimal Thakoor: Economist, IMF African Department.

While the benefits of expanding women's participation in the economy are clear, women around the globe continue to face barriers. In this podcast, Action Aid's Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda says women bear a disproportionate responsibility for unpaid care work, and ill-thought-out policies often add to that burden. Gumbonzvanda joined a panel on Making Macroeconomics Work for Women at the IMF World-Bank Annual Meetings.

Contributors:

Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, International Board Chair for Action Aid

In this podcast, IMF Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, and best-selling author Michael Lewis (The Big Short), reflect on lessons learned from the financial crisis and other issues facing the world economy. The discussion took place before a live audience during the IMF World-Bank Annual meetings last month.

Contributors:

Christine Lagarde: IMF Managing Director.

Michael Lewis: Author, columnist and financial journalist.

In this podcast, inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil talks about how artificial intelligence is helping overcome human limitations and creating better-paying jobs. Kurzweil participated in a panel discussion entitled Technology, Innovation, and Inclusive Growth, during the 2016 IMF World-Bank Annual Meetings.

Contributors:

Ray Kurzweil: Inventor, futurist, and author.

The IMF's latest regional economic outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa shows growth at its lowest level in more than 20 years. But in this podcast, the African Department's new Director, Abebe Aemro Selassie, says it's a mixed story of struggling oil-exporters and strong performers.

Contributors: Abebe Aemro Selassie, Director of the IMF's African Department

Le dernier rapport du FMI sur les Perspectives économiques régionales prévoit que le taux de croissance économique de l'Afrique subsaharienne devrait descendre à son plus bas niveau depuis plus de deux décennies. Mais Céline Allard, chef de la division des études régionales au Département Afrique, dit que plusieurs pays continuent de croitre de manière très robuste

Contributeurs: Céline Allard, chef de la division des études régionales au Département Afrique du FMI

The IMF's latest World Economic Outlook projects global growth at 3.1 percent in 2016 and 3.4 percent in 2017. In this podcast, IMF Chief Economist Maurice Obstfeld says growth has been too slow for too long.

Contributors:

Maurice Obstfeld, IMF Chief Economic Counselor

Ghana's economy—once a model for growth in West Africa, took a turn for the worse in 2012. It's been getting help from the IMF under a 3-year program known as the Extended Credit Facility. The IMF board has approved another US$116m, and under the arrangement Ghana could receive more than US$900m if all targets are met. In this podcast, Joël Toujas-Bernaté, IMF mission chief for Ghana, says the country is making good progress.

Contributors:

Joël Toujas-Bernaté, IMF Mission Chief for Ghana

While Ethiopia has been experiencing strong growth since the early 2000s, the IMF's latest review of the country's economy says low commodity prices and a drought have put growth levels well below 10 percent for the first time in a decade. In this podcast, we speak with Julio Escolano, IMF Mission Chief for Ethiopia, who oversaw the writing of the report.

Contributors:

Julio Escolano, IMF Mission Chief for Ethiopia.