GDP Webinar on the Global Economic Response to COVID-19
The Global Development Policy Center co-hosted a virtual webinar along with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development entitled, “The Global Economic Response to the COVID-19 Crisis” on Thursday, April 16, 2020 at the Global Development Policy Center.
A panel of leading policy-makers and experts led the conversation. The panel included, Nelson Barbosa (Former Finance Minister of Brazil), Stephanie Blankenburg (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), Winnie Byanyima (Executive Director, UNAIDS), Haihong Gao (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Institute for World Economics and Policy), and Jose Antonio Ocampo (Columbia University; UN Committee on Development Policy). The discussion was moderated by Kevin P. Gallagher, the Director, of the GDP Center.
The “The Global Economic Response to the COVID-19 Crisis” discussion focused on putting developing countries in the COVID-19 response. Researchers show that high-income countries have done well to backstop their financial systems and have also begun to advance bold stimulus packages for recovery. However, emerging market and developing countries lack the wherewithal for such a response and worse—they are experiencing flight of portfolio capital like no other period in their memories. As a result, both the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimate that these countries have an immediate need of $2.5 trillion.
The webinar included topics such as: the IMF and introduction of the ‘Global Financial Safety Net Tracker’ and policy brief, and a new research paper released by the GDP Center.
More on the event and research can be found here.
The GDP Center is a university-wide research center affiliated with the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies. The GDP Center’s mission is to advance policy-oriented research for financial stability, human well-being, and environmental sustainability.