IMF Podcasts

Millions of families around the world- even some countries, rely on workers living abroad to keep their economies afloat. In fact, global remittances reached a record $647 billion in 2022—three times that of official development assistance. Dilip Ratha is lead economist for migration and remittances at the World Bank. In this podcast, journalist Rhoda Metcalfe asks Ratha about his own experiences growing up in rural India and how they led him to become a leading voice on the power of remittances to reduce global poverty. Ratha says remittances are timely, large, stable, and best of all, they are countercyclical. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3QlDhyU Read Resilient Remittances at IMF.org/fandd

The podcast discusses the challenges of global monetary policy with stubbornly high inflation in some countries. It explores the depletion of corporate cash buffers and the risk of underinvesting in climate mitigation. The impact of rate hikes on real estate and the risks faced by banks are also examined. Additionally, the need for investment in climate mitigation in emerging markets is discussed along with the role of financial institutions.

International cooperation is weakening. The bridges that connect countries are corroding as trade and investment barriers are rising, and Africa stands to suffer the biggest economic losses from severe fragmentation. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva kicked off the 2023 Annual Meetings in Marrakech with her customary curtain raiser speech from Cote d’Ivoire. It’s the first time since 1973 that the Annual Meetings are held in Africa and Georgieva says it’s an opportunity to pave the way to the next 50 years. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3LRsJoC Go to IMF.org to follow the Annual Meetings and find all the IMF flagship reports, including the World Economic Outlook, the Global Financial Stability Report, and the Fiscal Monitor.

A functioning economy provides people with access to credit, insurance, and, among other things, investment opportunities. But what happens in poor communities where they are landless and have no wealth? Eliana La Ferrara says the social structure within those communities offers the collateral they need to make the economy work. La Ferrara is a Professor of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School and an award-winning economist whose work has helped us understand how the economics of the poor are deeply interwoven into the social fabric and norms of their communities. Journalist Rhoda Metcalfe sat down with La Ferrara to discuss her work in Africa, and how she came to focus on development issues that are often overlooked. The interview is part of the IMF series on extraordinary Women in Economics. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3ZwnH6k

IMF economist Andrea Presbitero discusses the distributional impact of rewards cards and the potential drawbacks for individuals carrying balances. The study reveals a redistribution of rewards from less privileged to more privileged areas. Presbitero argues for caution in implementing regulations and suggests improving financial literacy and increasing market competition to address wealth inequality.

Abdellatif Jouahri est le gouverneur de Banque Al-Maghrib depuis 2003 et l'homme derrière les grandes réformes qui ont fait du Maroc l'une des économies les plus importantes de la région du Moyen-Orient et de l'Afrique du Nord (MENA). Dans cet épisode, Jouahri s'entretient avec Taline Koranchelian, directrice adjointe du Département Moyen-Orient et Asie centrale du FMI pour évoquer sa longue et éminente carrière. Leur conversation a eu lieu à la veille des Assemblées Annuelles 2023 qui se tiendront au Maroc en octobre.

The dramatic opening up of markets to international trade over the past 30 years has been a boon to many developing economies but it has not benefitted everyone. Nina Pavcnik grew up in Yugoslavia and witnessed firsthand the effects of open markets on the lives of people across the border. Pavcnik is now Professor of Economics and International Studies at Dartmouth College and has become an authority on how international trade affects the poor. In this podcast, Journalist Rhoda Metcalfe sits down with Pavcnik to talk about her research as part of our series on extraordinary Women in Economics. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3YFlMMg

While import prices account for much of Europe’s inflation, its outlook largely depends on how companies absorb wage gains as higher prices erode workers’ purchasing power. IMF economist Frederik Toscani studies inflation and monetary policy in the Euro Area and is coauthor of a new paper that breaks inflation down into labor costs, import costs, taxes, and profits. In this podcast, Toscani says corporate profits account for 45 percent of price rises since the start of 2022.  Transcript: https://bit.ly/454o3Tk

Nigeria’s eNaira was the first Central Bank Digital Currency in Africa and only the second in the world when it launched in October 2021, but a growing number of countries across the globe are now planning to follow suit with their own CBDCs. What can they learn from Nigeria’s experience? Jookyung Ree is an economist in the IMF African Department and assigned to Nigeria when the CBDC was introduced. Ree has since studied its impact on the economy and found that existing mobile money networks are proving a challenge to the eNaira’s adoptability. In this podcast, Ree says the eNaira will need to complement mobile money systems to convince more Nigerians to use it.   Transcript: https://bit.ly/3Qb2FI5

Since their inception in 2008, the contentious rise of crypto assets has been dramatic. Their market value has been as high as $3 trillion and about $50 million is transacted in crypto every day. But what does this brave new world of cryptographically-protected distributed ledgers mean for traditional tax systems? Ruud De Mooij is Deputy Director of the IMF Fiscal Affairs Department and heads its work on taxation. In this podcast, De Mooij says finding ways to tax crypto will mean significant revenue gains for governments and lead to a fairer global tax system.  Transcript: https://bit.ly/3O1Hwyt Read the blog and IMF.org/blogs