Global Economic Governance
The Global Economic Governance Initiative (GEGI) advances policy-oriented research to enable the international financial architecture to foster financial stability, human well-being and environmental sustainability across the globe.
RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT
With just six years until 2030, there is an urgent need to unlock investments and mobilize affordable climate finance in a fiscally sound and financially stable manner.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has a vital role to play, and proposals to reform the international financial architecture – whether the Bridgetown Initiative, the Paris Pact for People and Planet or the Nairobi Declaration – all involve reforms to the IMF.
Yet, despite notable recent strides, ambition to integrate climate at the Fund remains limited. A transformation of the IMF is necessary for aligning the international financial architecture with shared development and climate change goals.
A new report from the Task Force on Climate, Development and the IMF pushes for a faster and deeper evolution of the IMF that is both development-centered in its approach to climate and embraces an investment push as a priority goal. It presents three core policy recommendations animated by an IMF 2030 Action Agenda, comprised of concrete reforms to be implemented over the next 12 months.
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Impact in Action: GDP Center at the 2026 IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings
April 17, 2026This week, global economic leaders, policymakers and civil society representatives gathered in Washington, DC for the 2026 Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group, marking a key moment to assess the state of the... [ More ]
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Adjustment without Accumulation: Evidence on Capital Formation from IMF Programs
April 09, 2026The mission of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is to promote international financial stability through liquidity support, surveillance and capacity building. Emerging market and developing countries frequently turn to the IMF during balance-of-payments distress. IMF liquidity support comes with conditionalities... [ More ]
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Toward More Effective IMF Programs: Learning from the Evidence on Conditionality
April 09, 2026The International Monetary Fund (IMF) conducts periodic Reviews of Program Design and Conditionality (RoC), and it is currently undergoing the first review since 2018. These reviews analyze the performance of IMF programs in recent years and establish changes to the... [ More ]
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Cutting Trees to Balance Budgets: International Monetary Fund Programs are Associated with Increased Deforestation
April 08, 2026International financial institutions (IFIs) are increasingly expected to support environmental and climate goals. Among them, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) plays a central role in shaping economic policy across much of the Global South through its lending programs. However, little... [ More ]
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Rising oil prices and developing country debt – the next shock is already here
March 23, 2026By Rebecca Ray, Kevin P. Gallagher and Marina Zucker-Marques Once again, developing countries are experiencing shockwaves from a crisis they did not create. Since the US-Israel strikes on Iran began on February 28, global oil prices have skyrocketed, with consequences rippling... [ More ]
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Letter from 220 Economists and Legal Scholars to Colombian President Gustavo Petro Calling for Action on ISDS
March 19, 2026"Dear President Gustavo Petro Urrego, We write to you as economists and legal scholars deeply concerned that investor-state dispute settlement (ISDS) poses a serious obstacle to building prosperous, equitable, and sustainable societies. As Colombia prepares to co-host the First International Conference... [ More ]
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Global Financial Safety Net Tracker Database Methodology Guidebook, 2026
January 28, 2026The Global Financial Safety Net (GFSN) is a set of institutions and mechanisms that provide insurance against crises and financing to mitigate their impacts. It has four main elements: countries’ own international reserves; bilateral swap arrangements whereby central banks exchange... [ More ]
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USMCA and the Need for a “Second Story” of Mexican Wages and Household Incomes
January 28, 2026The current trade war and tensions with the US pose many challenges for Mexico, but at the same time they provide both an impetus and a strategic opportunity to make progress on the longstanding and interwoven problems of low wages, [ More ]
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Geopolitics on the Rise, IMF on the Decline: Insights from the Updated Global Financial Safety Net Tracker
January 26, 2026By Laurissa Mühlich, Marina Zucker-Marques and Barbara Fritz In an era of mounting debt pressures, climate shocks and volatile international trade policies, timely and reliable financial resources are critical to stabilize economies without sacrificing essential public spending and development goals. To address this, [ More ]
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What the EU’s New Compulsory Licensing Policy Signals for Global Health Governance and Flexibilities for Middle-Income Countries
January 23, 2026By Rachel Thrasher, Deborah Gleeson, Brook K. Baker, Veronika Wirtz, Warren A. Kaplan and Brigitte Tenni Global and regional crises call for rapid, flexible solutions, especially when it comes to access to lifesaving medicines in a health emergency. On December 30, 2025, [ More ]