A proposed $50-billion trust fund could help low-income and vulnerable middle-income countries build resilience to balance of payments shocks and ensure a sustainable recovery. Even as countries continue to battle COVID-19, it is crucial not to overlook the longer-term challenge of transforming economies to become more resilient to shocks and achieve sustainable and inclusive growth. The pandemic has taught us that not addressing these long-term challenges in a timely manner can have significant economic consequences, with the potential for future...

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Today, European society needs the contribution of universities and other higher education institutions more than ever. Europe is facing major challenges such as climate change, the digital transformation and aging population, at a time when it is hit by the biggest global health crisis in a century and its economic fall-out. Universities, and the entire higher education sector, have a unique position at the crossroads of education, research and innovation, in shaping sustainable and resilient economies, and in making...

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In the US and UK, the recent labor market puzzle can be partly explained by mismatch, the pandemic’s effect on women (in the US) and older workers leaving the work force. Almost two years after the pandemic upended labor markets, job openings are plentiful in many advanced economies, yet workers have not fully returned. 'The broader trend of plentiful jobs and not enough workers can have major implications for growth, inequality, and inflation.' This gap, in which the employment rate is below...

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From COVID-19 to climate change, economies are facing new challenges. The world is changing. From COVID-19 and climate change to digitalization and diverging demographics, the IMF’s member countries are confronting new challenges. The impacts of these challenges are being felt unevenly across countries and will inevitably play out in their balance of payments, potentially undermining global economic stability. 'The challenges facing IMF member countries are constantly evolving.' It is therefore important that the Fund also revisit its policy advice, lending activities...

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Interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung | Interview with Isabel Schnabel, Member of the Executive Board of the ECB, conducted by Markus Zydra, Bastian Brinkmann and Meike Schreiber on 10 January 2022 | Ms Schnabel, inflation in the euro area now stands at 5% – a record high. When are you finally going to intervene? We view these figures with some concern, as they are higher than we initially expected. And we fully understand many people’s worries about the drop in real wages...

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