The scramble to expand deposit guarantees in Europe in response to recent financial turmoil confirms that the on-going integration of European financial markets requires closer coordination of prudential policies and financial safety nets. We study the optimal design of prudential supervision...

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde delivered this address at the Library of Congress as part of the Library's Henry A. Kissinger Lecture Series in Washington, D.C. on December 4, 2018

The Global Financial Safety Net (GFSN) has expanded considerably since 2008, including in the non-traditional elements of the safety net such as Regional Financing Arrangements (RFAs). The resulting multi-layered structure of the GFSN makes collaboration between its various elements more...

This paper reviews economic developments in Barbados during the 1990s. Economic activity declined during 1990-92 but began to recover in 1993. The recovery started slowly in 1993, but picked up in 1994, and real GDP grew by 3.8 percent in that year. Adverse weather in 1994 led to a drop in sugar...

This paper examines the volume and distribution of concessional and nonconcessional financial flows from Arab countries, and aid agencies, and regional institutions to developing countries. Arab financial assistance increased very rapidly from 1973 to 1980 in line with the rapid growth in oil...

This paper analyzes the macroeconomic impacts of the creation, accumulation, and use of counterpart funds. It draws attention to the importance of including counterpart funds in the design of macroeconomic policies to ensure their consistency. It shows that the creation or accumulation of...

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the Monterrey Consensus have created a powerful global compact for development. But the continued credibility of this compact hinges on fostering momentum in its implementation. With the five-year stocktaking of the implementation of the Millennium...

The turn of the century was marked by some significant and promising events for world development. The Millennium Declaration - signed by 189 countries in September 2000 - led to the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals, which set clear targets for eradicating poverty and other sources...

What is the human cost of the global economic crisis? How many people will the crisis prevent from escaping poverty, and how many will remain hungry? How many more infants will die? Are children being pulled out of schools, not getting the education they need to become more productive adults and...