IMF Podcasts

While efforts to mitigate climate change have focused primarily on burning fewer fossil fuels, recent research by the UN's Panel on Climate Change shows that what we eat and how we produce it can have an even greater impact on the global environment and public health. The report says reforms in crop and livestock activities could potentially mitigate up to a third of all greenhouse-gas emissions. IMF economist, Nicoletta Batini studies the environmental impact of the agri-food sector. Her latest article titled Reaping What We Sow is published in the December 2019 issue of Finance and Development Magazine. Photo: Consuming fewer animal products can help reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. (Istock by Getty Images/ FrankvandenBergh)

Sub-Saharan Africa has made significant inroads in reducing poverty and increasing access to education and health services, but the infrastructure deficit still looms large throughout the region. For many countries, the ability to finance their development needs has become more constrained as public debt has increased rapidly in recent years. In this podcast, Abebe Aemro Selassie says when governments invest in the right types of infrastructure, people are more willing to pay the taxes the government needs to service its debt. Selassie is Director of the IMF's African Department, which has helped organize a special conference in Dakar, Senegal, this week to discuss how countries can continue to address the infrastructure gap while maintaining manageable debt levels. Sustainable Development and Debt conference page

Following the great economic crises of the 20th century, there were periods of intellectual and political upheaval that ultimately changed economic policy. Mervyn King, former Governor of the Bank of England, argues the 2008 financial crisis should have prompted the same reaction but didn't. King delivered this year's Per Jacobsson Lecture during the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings and warned the failure to dramatically change our approach to economic policy risks another financial crisis. Lord Mervyn King is Professor of Economics at New York University and the London School of Economics. He is also author of The End of Alchemy and has a forthcoming book entitled Radical Uncertainty.

Investing in social programs can soften the blow of inequalities and foster more stable societies. In this podcast, we speak with Deborah Greenfield, Deputy Director General for Policy at the International Labour Organization, which was formed one hundred years ago out of the Paris Peace Conference at the end of World War 1. And while the work environment has changed dramatically in the past one hundred years, gaining access to basic social programs remains a struggle for far too many workers around the world today. A recent ILO study says more than half the global population lacks healthcare and social security. Greenfield says social protection floors provide important support to workers as they transition into the changing job market. Read the paper about IMF Engagement on Social Spending,

Somalia is one of the world's most conflict-affected states. Many countries around the world suffer from weak governing institutions, but Somalia was without a functional central government for 20 years. In this podcast, Somalia's Finance Minister, Abdirahman Duale Beileh, says while elections in 2012 have since helped reestablish some of the institutions that bind the country's disparate communities, the road to recovery remains a steep climb. Duale Beileh is also a distinguished artist and songwriter, and we hear his latest song about students struggling to get an education amid violence and social destruction. Abdirahman Duale Beileh was in Washington for the 2019 IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings. You'll find the webcast of Dr. Beileh's presentation about Effective Engagement in Fragile States at IMF.org. Link to his song Heestii Dalkani Gurmad Buu Raba

In her first IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings as IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva talks with Foreign Policy Magazine's Ravi Agrawal about breaking down barriers to women's career growth. Georgieva is the first person from an emerging market economy, and only the second woman to lead the IMF since its inception in 1944. In this podcast, Georgieva and Agrawal discuss the economic benefits of gender equality and the societal transformation that is required to correct the injustices of the past. Read the IMFBlog on The Economic Cost of Devaluing "Women's Work"

The dramatic drop in commodity prices in 2014 has had lingering effects in sub-Saharan Africa. One such effect is a growing backlog of payments by governments to service providers, known as arrears. But despite the prevalence of arrears in the region, their causes and consequences are not well understood. The latest Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa looks at the economic and social impact of increasing arrears in recent years. In this podcast, IMF economists Samuel Delepierre and David Stenzel say domestic arrears can undermine private sector activity and citizens' trust in the government.

Competition is considered to be an essential driving force of market economies. It's said to ensure a more efficient allocation of resources and can boost innovation and productivity. But what happens when there isn't enough competition? The latest Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa looks at how the lack of competition in the region is hurting the poor and undermining economic growth. In this podcast, IMF economists Reda Cherif and Jesus Gonzalez-Garcia say more competition could lower prices and increase welfare. Photo: Competition makes the economy work for people. (iStock by Getty images/ Stefan_Ganev)

The Global Financial Stability Report exposes weak spots in the global economy that could amplify the impact of a shock, such as an intensification of trade tensions or rising corporate debt. Fabio Natalucci heads the team of economists who write the GFSR. In this podcast, Natalucci says if current trends continue, debt owed by firms unable to cover interest expenses with earnings, or debt-at-risk, could rise to $19 trillion. Fabio Natalucci, is Deputy Director in the IMF's Monetary and Capital Markets Department. Read the IMF BLOG

While elections are one of the most important pillars of democracy, in many African countries they are characterized by uncertainties due to the high risk of electoral violence. Studies often look at ethnic tensions and political cleavages as drivers of electoral violence, but how might gender play into this? IMF economist Rasmane Ouedraogo investigates the impact of gender equality on electoral violence in Africa and finds yet another good reason to increase female labor force participation. Rasmane Ouedraogo and Idrissa Ouedraogo are coauthors of Gender Equality and Electoral Violence in Africa: Unlocking the Peacemaking Potential of Women