IMF Podcasts

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

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...