IMF Podcasts

The volatility and price spikes of raw commodities has affected many regions in recent years—sub-Saharan Africa among them. This is because the price of a commodity can make or break the health of a country in this region. What then can countries do to protect themselves from price shocks?

A nation's poverty or prosperity may have as much to do with politics as economics, says Daron Acemoglu. He argues that more democratic countries with inclusive political institutions create sustained prosperity, while "extractive," authoritarian regimes lead toward poverty.

Underdevelopment has often been blamed on bad policies adopted by national governments. Augustin Fosu has identified four such policies which he believes have been the cause of inefficiency, overregulation and misallocation of resources

In the last two decades, growth has accelerated significantly in most of sub-Saharan Africa. Researchers at the IMF have been exploring whether this high growth has also led to, what economists describe as, "structural transformation" on the continent.

Decades after the end of colonial rule in Africa, and more than one hundred years after the official end of the slave trade in the US, the continent remains among the least-developed regions of the globe. But how far is the trade in human beings responsible for Africa's lack of economic progress?

Les pays émergents et en développement ont remarquablement résisté au récent marasme économique. De la crise asiatique des années 1990 à la crise de 2008, ils ont vite rebondi, prenant même de l'essor. Comment expliquer cette amélioration de la performance ? Abdul de Guia Abiad remonte aux sources de nombreux cas de réussite et cerne quelques facteurs communs.

La crise financière mondiale a mis en évidence l'augmentation des inégalités de revenus dans le monde. Thomas Piketty a étudié cette disparité croissante ces dernières années et plaide en faveur d'une imposition progressive pour atténuer cette tendance.

Devant la recrudescence de la hausse des prix des produits alimentaires et pétroliers, Samya Beidas-Strom, économiste au FMI, montre que la volatilité de ces prix peut être atténuée.

Despite their oil wealth, the countries of the Central African Economic and Monetary Community still struggle with the "Resource Curse". Sharmini Coorey, Director of the IMF's Institute of Capacity Development describe the challenges of managing oil wealth in the region, and outline policies that could help overcome them.

China's current account surplus has declined dramatically over recent years. Many economists believe this signals a much needed rebalancing of the world's second largest economy toward domestic sources of growth. So, what's the reason behind this drop and what does it mean for the rest of Asia?