IMF Podcasts

Everyone feels the pinch when inflation is on the rise and so the pressure on central banks to manage inflation rates has grown exponentially in recent weeks. In this first podcast of a two-part series on inflation, distinguished economists Miles Kimball and Ruchir Agarwal discuss how a robust negative interest rate policy can help central banks better control inflation and stabilize the economy. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3xlHFEK Miles Kimball is a professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and Ruchir Agarwal is a senior economist in the IMF Research Department. This podcast series is based on their inflation trilogy published in Finance and Development. Read the article at IMF.org/fandd

The pandemic has sparked an enormous upheaval in education around the world. But in India and many other low-income countries where remote learning is often not an option, children's education has simply fallen off the rails. Yamini Aiyar is President of the Centre for Policy Research in New Delhi. In this podcast, Aiyar speaks with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe about how the digital divide has pushed poor kids into an educational deficit that could reverberate for years. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3NBfWpk Yamini Aiyar is also the author of The Education Pandemic published in Finance and Development. Read more about bridging learning gaps amongst children here

The last two years have proven a test for the global financial system, and the nature of the crises is getting more complex by the day. In this podcast, Foreign Policy magazine's Ravi Agrawal asks the IMF's two top leaders how governments should respond to the growing number of challenges facing the global economy. Transcript: https://bit.ly/382IPKX Watch the webcast at https://foreignpolicy.com/events/

Governments with strong balance sheets are known to recover from shocks more quickly. Yet many of them don't have balance sheets, or even know what assets and liabilities they have. The IMF estimates these often-overlooked global public assets at twice the value of global GDP. Ian Ball is a professor at Victoria University in Wellington and behind the New Zealand government's net worth approach to determining its fiscal position. Ball published an article in Finance and Development about the benefits of digging up all government assets, hidden or otherwise. In this podcast, he sits down with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe to discuss the advantages of this basic accounting exercise that dates back to the time of William the Conqueror. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3CViKsI Read the article at IMF.org/fandd

As the world this week celebrates International Women's Day, hundreds of millions of women are living in conflict and fragility. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva joined a special United Nations Security Council meeting to discuss women's economic inclusion as a key to building peace. In this podcast, Georgieva says women and girls are themselves powerful agents of change and gender equality can prevent conflict and foster stability. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3CuYcXA

In this episode of Women in Economics, economist Laura Carvalho speaks with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe about how growing up in Brazil in the 90s during its currency swings and hyperinflation drove her to become one of the country's most influential economists. Carvalho is a Professor at the Department of Economics at the University of Sao Paulo and the Director of the Research Center in Macroeconomics of Inequality. Her book, Brazilian Waltz - From Boom to Economic Chaos, was a best seller. Carvalho says Brazilians who understood basic economic principles fared better through the economic turbulence of that time. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3pN26pC

Should the rich pay more taxes than the poor? Economists and public finance practitioners have traditionally focused on economic efficiency when answering questions like that, steering clear of any moral considerations that could be seen as subjective. But recent work by evolutionary moral psychologists suggests that a more human approach to policy decisions can lead to better policies that muster broader support. Paolo Mauro is Deputy Director in the IMF Fiscal Affairs Department. In this podcast, he says considering people's moral perspectives makes policy choices more politically feasible and sustainable. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3hudH8M

As part of the IMF Exchange speaker series, London School of Economics Director, Minouche Shafik and IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva discuss how current economic trends are straining social safety nets and fueling disaffection among people across the globe. In her latest book What We Owe Each Other, Shafik argues the need for a new social contract. The discussion is moderated by CNN Anchor and Correspondent Eleni Giokos. The podcast is an abridged version of the conversation, you'll find a webcast of the entire event at IMF.org.

When was the last time you used cash? In his latest book, Eswar Prasad looks at a world, not that far off, where using cash will no longer be an option. Prasad is a professor of economics at Cornell University, and his book, The Future of Money, describes how digital currencies and other financial technologies are reshaping everything from consumer banking to monetary policy and international payments. In this podcast, he discusses the book with Finance and Development Magazine editor Chris Wellisz. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3gwQJNu Read the F&D article at IMF.org/fandd

When the pandemic hit two years ago, millions of people quickly found themselves unable to work because of the nature of their jobs or because of the recession that ensued. But now, as economies are picking up- why are companies having such a hard time hiring workers? In this podcast, journalist Rhoda Metcalfe asks economists Carlo Pizzinelli and Ippei Shibata what's behind the labor shortage in many advanced economies. Shibata and Pizzinelli's latest research looks at current trends in the US and UK and suggests there are many pieces to the labor market puzzle. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3rnmmzk Read the blog at blogs.imf.org