For countries on the path to recovery, reviving economic activity is a major priority. And what better way to support a come-back than by creating jobs. Our new IMF staff research shows that when governments spend on infrastructure, they create many new jobs. Drawing on a 19-year dataset of over 5,600 construction companies from 27 advanced economies and 14 emerging market economies, we use an innovative approach to measure the direct employment effect of $1 million of infrastructure spending by country income group...

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Our action plan lays out an ambitious roadmap to take the effects of climate change into account. On this path, we will pass three major milestones that guide our commitment to do our part to tackle climate change. What's our roadmap to greening monetary policy? We at the ECB are doing our part to tackle climate change within our mandate. As a result of our strategy review, we’ve agreed on an ambitious roadmap on how to integrate climate change considerations into our...

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Differences in vaccine access and the ability to deploy policy support are creating a growing divergence between advanced economies from many emerging market and developing economies. Faced with high deficits and historic levels of debt, countries with limited access to financing are walking a fiscal tightrope between providing adequate support and preserving financial stability. 'IMF support focused most where it mattered the most.' Without resolute measures to address this growing divide, COVID‑19 will continue to claim lives and destroy jobs, inflicting lasting damage...

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CBDC: A Solution in Search of a Problem? By Governor Christopher J. Waller at the American Enterprise Institute, Washington, D.C. (via webcast) | The payment system is changing in profound ways as individuals demand faster payments, central banks including the Fed respond, and nonbank entities seek a greater role in facilitating payments. In all this excitement, there are also calls for the Federal Reserve to "get in the game" and issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) that the general public...

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The OECD has published updated transfer pricing country profiles, reflecting the current transfer pricing legislation and practices of 20 jurisdictions. These updated profiles also contain new information on countries' legislation and practices regarding the transfer pricing treatment of financial transactions and the application of the Authorised OECD Approach (AOA) to attribute profits to permanent establishments. The transfer pricing country profiles focus on countries' domestic legislation regarding key transfer pricing aspects, including the arm's length principle, methods, comparability analysis, intangible property, intra-group services,...

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The EU bank funds will help to increase the competitiveness of the Spanish company by boosting its investments from 2021 to 2024, focusing on digitalisation and the improvement of facilities. The EIB-financed project will enable Fagor Arrasate to develop machinery for the production of lighter, more environmentally friendly vehicles, as well as components for electric vehicles. The agreement is supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI). The European Investment Bank (EIB) and Fagor Arrasate (a cooperative and...

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Have you or one of your employees received an alarming text message about unemployment insurance benefits from what seems to be your state workforce agency? You’re not alone. Identity thieves are targeting millions of people nationwide with scam phishing texts aimed at stealing personal information, unemployment benefits, or both. The phishing texts try to dupe the recipient to click a link to “make necessary corrections” to their unemployment insurance (UI) claim, “verify” their personal information, or “reactivate” their UI benefits account. The...

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The implications of savings accumulated during the pandemic for the global economic outlook The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to the accumulation of a large stock of household savings across advanced economies, significantly above what has historically been observed. Owing to their large size, the savings accumulated since early 2020 have the potential to shape the post-pandemic recovery. The central question is whether households will spend heavily once pandemic-related restrictions are lifted and consumer confidence returns, or whether other motives...

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The role of sectoral developments for wage growth in the euro area since the start of the pandemic The economic consequences of and policy responses to the pandemic pose challenges for interpreting wage developments. Aggregate wage growth is mostly assessed in terms of compensation per employee or compensation per hour worked. The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has led to a substantial divergence between compensation per employee and compensation per hour. The high number of workers on job retention schemes played a decisive...

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