IMF Podcasts

L'Afrique subsaharienne subit les effets de la baisse des cours des produits de base. Le dernier rapport du FMI sur les Perspectives économiques régionales prévoit que les taux de croissance de la région descendront à leur plus bas niveau depuis six ans. Dans ce Podcast, Céline Allard, co-auteur du rapport, dit que certains pays ont très peu d'épargne à leur disposition pour faire face à cet ajustement.

Economic activity has weakened markedly in sub-Saharan Africa, and the strong growth momentum of recent years has dissipated in several countries. The IMF's latest Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa puts growth at 3¾ percent this year, lower than in 2009 in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. In this podcast, co-author Céline Allard, says low commodity prices, and tighter financing are key factors.

S'il est un pays qui démontre combien il est difficile de transformer les richesses minérales en croissance inclusive, c'est bien la République démocratique du Congo. Selon la dernière évaluation annuelle de l'économie congolaise réalisée par le FMI, les taux de croissance en 2014 atteignaient jusqu'à 9,2 %, mais les indices de pauvreté de la RDC restent parmi les plus élevés au monde. Dans ce podcast, Norbert Toé, Chef de mission pour la RDC, discute les points essentiels du rapport.

If there's one country that exemplifies the difficulty in transforming mineral wealth into inclusive growth- it's the Democratic Republic of Congo. The IMF's latest annual economic assessment indicates while growth rates for 2014 were as high as 9.2 percent, poverty rates in the DRC are still among the highest in the world. In this podcast, Norbert Toé, IMF mission chief for the DRC discusses the key findings in the report.

In development circles, governance is often a code word for corruption. But Daniel Kaufmann, president of the Natural Resource Governance Institute, says governance is much broader. In this podcast, Kaufmann talks about how good governance can actually triple a country's per capita income.

The IMF's latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) shows global growth at 3.1 percent this year, down from 3.4 percent in 2014. The report says while outlooks vary from country to country, the new WEO forecasts predict slower near-term growth nearly across the board, with increasing downside risks to the world economy as commodity prices continue to fall.

Cuba has been out of bounds for American tourists for more than 50 years. But with the US recently restoring diplomatic relations, some say it's just a matter of time before the floodgate opens to a whole generation of baby boomers wanting to experience some of Hemmingway's favorite watering holes. In this podcast the IMF's Nicole Laframboise talks about how the thaw in relations between the US and Cuba could shake up the Caribbean tourism industry.

Inflation can determine a currency's purchasing power as high inflation means rising prices. But what drives inflation differs from region to region. In this podcast we talk with Oral Williams, IMF Mission Chief for Malawi and coauthor of a new research paper that shows the drivers of inflation are changing in sub-Saharan Africa.

Asia fared well throughout the global financial crisis and has since become one of the strongest economic regions in the world. But with the global economy such as it is, a new book published by the IMF says Asia's financial systems are facing new challenges. In this podcast coauthor Jim Walsh talks about The Future of Asian Finance.

While the gap between rich and poor is widest in Latin America, research led by Nora Lustig shows it's the only region in the world where the gap is actually narrowing. But in this podcast, Lustig admits it's still unclear what specifically is behind the trend.