IMF Podcasts

The World Economic Outlook is more than projected growth rates. The research behind those projections tells the story of how 190 countries, slowly but steadily, found their way through the fog of the past few years to emerge a testament to the resilience of the global economy. Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas is IMF Chief Economist and brings together the multitude of analytics, data and insight that provide the signposts. In this podcast, Gourinchas says while the fears of a global recession have not materialized, the path ahead is not without obstacles. Transcript: https://bit.ly/4b5O6x6 Read the full report at IMF.org

Sub-Saharan Africa is slowly emerging from four turbulent years with higher growth expected for nearly two thirds of countries in the region. But while inflation has almost halved and debt has broadly stabilized, economies are still grappling with financing shortages and impending debt repayments. Wenjie Chen is deputy head of the team that publishes the Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa. In this podcast, she says the surging global demand for critical minerals key to renewable energy systems could help the region overcome the ongoing funding squeeze. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3WbU6iT Read the full report at IMF.org

As inflation slowly subsides and optimism pervades financial markets, the latest Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) warns of potential setbacks. Fabio Natalucci and Jason Wu head the GFSR team. In this podcast, they discuss risks associated with debt and the private credit market, struggling real estate sectors in China and the US, cybersecurity, and a host of other risks to the much anticipated soft landing. Transcript: https://bit.ly/4axvy8z

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva kicks off the 2024 IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings from the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, with her customary curtain raiser speech. Go to IMF.org to follow the Spring Meetings and find all the IMF flagship reports, including the World Economic Outlook, the Global Financial Stability Report, and the Fiscal Monitor. Webcast and transcript: https://bit.ly/4aRkmDg

Even optimal economic policies create winners and losers, and that’s where politics steps in. Trade liberalization is an example of a policy that can make a country better off as a whole, but what happens to workers who lose out to cheaper goods? Jeffry Frieden says while politics is often messy, it’s how society puts a value on things economists can’t measure. Frieden is a Professor of Government at Harvard University. Transcript: https://bit.ly/4cU34qZ Read A Place for Politics at IMF.org/fandd

For decades, the standard labor market model has been ruled by supply and demand, but a younger generation of labor economists is questioning that approach. Suresh Naidu is a Professor of Economics and International Public Affairs at Columbia University. He says while the supply and demand model is not wrong, it only tells part of the story. In this podcast, Naidu and journalist Rhoda Metcalfe discuss why today’s labor market model sometimes fails to reflect the real world. Transcript: https://bit.ly/4aHBqvz

It wasn’t that long ago when retiring in one’s 50s was an achievable goal. But with life expectancy steadily rising and pension systems doomed to fall short, the prospects for an early retirement are fading fast. Olivia Mitchell wrote the book on retirement and modern pension research and has spent her career helping people improve their financial literacy. Mitchell is a Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She sat down with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe to discuss the challenges of today’s economy for Americans planning their golden years. Transcript: https://bit.ly/49snKUp

John Maynard Keynes was one of the most influential economists of the 20 century and the father of modern macroeconomics. His novel lectures at King’s College, Cambridge, inspired economists and policymakers of the time and continues to do so a hundred years later. In this podcast, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva delivers a speech inspired by one of Keynes’ lectures to a young audience at the very same King’s College. Transcript and webcast: https://bit.ly/3Tv4lfi

Economists build models based on basic assumptions of human behavior. But people are complicated, right? Do Germans who grew up on opposite sides of the Berlin Wall make the same financial decisions today? Ulrike Malmendier is a behavioral economist whose innovative research has shown that experiential learning rewires the brain to make decisions based on past experiences. In this podcast, Malmendier and Journalist Rhoda Metcalfe discuss how behavioral economics is helping to build better economic models. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3x3sWjZ Read New Lessons from Behavioral Economics at IMF.org/fandd

Countless resources and billions of dollars have been directed at poverty alleviation over the decades and yet almost 10 percent of the world’s population is still struggling to survive... not only in developing countries but in rich countries too. Why do so many anti-poverty efforts fall short? Martin Kalisa says there is more to poverty than income, and poor people can help design projects that are more likely to succeed. Kalisa is the Deputy Director of ATD Fourth World, an anti-poverty organization that builds research teams that include poor people to better understand their needs. Kalisa took part in a conference on the Hidden Dimensions of Poverty hosted by the World Bank and the IMF. Transcript: https://bit.ly/4a3Hcra

Industrial policy had its heyday in the 1950s and 60s when governments moved to boost national competitiveness amid burgeoning global trade. Economists have been predicting the return of industrial policy of late- and there’s no question it’s back, but what does today’s industrial policy look like? Michele Ruta is a trade expert at the IMF, and along with some colleagues compiled a new dataset that shows the extent to which new industrial policies are being used and what their real impact might be on the global economy. Transcript: https://bit.ly/49LjmQW Check out the IMF’s global trade webpage: IMF.org/en/Topics/Trade

Productivity has been the driving force behind the five- sometimes six-day workweek, but there is a growing body of evidence that shows a shorter week is equally, if not more productive in many respects. Juliet Schor is a champion of the four-day week and led the charge in the early 90s with her book The Overworked American, which studies the pitfalls of choosing money over time. Schor is an economist and sociologist at Boston College and heads the research for global trials of companies instituting four-day workweeks. Journalist Rhoda Metcalfe spoke with Juliet Schor about her four-day week mission, as part of our special Women in Economics series. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3SHgPRR

Behind any good policy stands good data. And as the global economy becomes increasingly digitalized, effective policy and regulation are critical to ensure a stable and equitable financial system. Jim Tebrake is Deputy Director and heads the data and methodology efforts in the IMF Statistics Department. In this podcast, Tebrake says the world of digital money is changing quickly and statisticians should be prepared to provide the data that policymakers need to respond effectively. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3Su8pgA Check out the latest IMF Statistical Forum at IMF.org

Artificial intelligence has the power to transform society in so many ways, but only a small number of companies in an even smaller number of countries hold the keys to AI’s development. So what happens when a narrow swath of humanity makes choices that will impact everyone else? Stephanie Bell is a Senior Research Scientist at the Partnership for AI and led the creation of the Guidelines for Shared Prosperity. In this podcast, Bell says guidelines are needed to ensure AI’s development trajectory serves humanity. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3tFhdGY

Artificial intelligence is changing the way we work and for many it’s scary. But for teachers in India’s million-plus schools, AI is a welcome partner in solving the learning poverty problem. Shankar Maruwada is the Co-founder and CEO of EkStep Foundation, which develops AI to help improve the public education system. In this podcast, Maruwada and journalist Rhoda Metcalfe discuss how AI can close the literacy gap. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3RNAZJy Read Unlocking India’s Potential With AI in a special AI edition of Finance and Development Magazine at IMF.org/fandd

The pace at which artificial intelligence is transforming jobs is astounding, but while it boasts higher productivity AI is also increasing wage inequality. When workers are replaced by machines, real wages decline, and the owners of capital prosper. So who owns AI and how should its benefits be distributed? In this podcast, the IMFs Andrew Berg and Maryam Vaziri discuss AI’s inequality problem, the subject of their article in December’s special AI edition of Finance and Development magazine. Berg is Deputy Director, and Vaziri is an economist, both in the IMF Institute for Capacity Development. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3NdgRxR

There’s no question that Artificial Intelligence will increase productivity- but at what cost? What happens when systems out-perform not only factory workers but society’s most esteemed professions? Daniel Susskind has written two thought-provoking books on how AI is changing the nature of work and what tomorrow’s labor market will look like. Susskind is a research professor at King's College London and a senior research associate at the Institute for Ethics in AI at Oxford University. In this podcast, Susskind speaks with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe about how encouraging technologies that complement rather than substitute human work would place fewer livelihoods at risk. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3T146Kj

Global warming is wreaking havoc on so many levels, but climate action is costly and presents policymakers with difficult tradeoffs. High debt, rising interest rates, and weaker growth prospects make public finances harder to balance and climate goals harder to achieve. This is where fiscal policy and climate mitigation meet and why the IMF Fiscal Affairs Department is trying to help countries manage their limited resources. Economists Christine Richmond and Raphael Lam work on climate policy and the annual publications of the IMF Fiscal Monitor. In this podcast, they say governments now face a policy trilemma between achieving climate goals, fiscal sustainability, and political feasibility. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3sT6JmP

Carbon pricing is steadily emerging as one of the most viable solutions to reducing global emissions, but shedding its contentious past to build a global consensus is still a work in progress. Economist Ian Parry has championed the idea of carbon pricing long before it was fashionable- or even considered feasible by more than a handful of countries. Parry is the principal environmental fiscal policy expert in the IMF Fiscal Affairs Department and has made it his mission to present- on behalf of the institution, the benefits of incorporating climate risks into the cost of doing business through a carbon tax. Transcript: https://bit.ly/47jrAP7

Having access to nature can improve lives. Walking through the forest or by a lake occasionally is proven to have both physical and psychological benefits. But nature is a resource that is undervalued in our economies, and all too often left off the balance sheet. Catherine Kling says determining the true economic value of nature will help foster its preservation. Kling is an environmental economist at Cornell University in the Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and has focused much of her career on creating the kind of data that encourages governments to include the value of nature in their economic decision-making. In this special episode of our Women in Economics series, Kling and Journalist Rhoda Metcalfe discuss why putting a price tag on nature will help save it. Transcript: https://bit.ly/3QHpRvZ