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In the News
 Unemployment Remaining High in Many Advanced Economies. Combating unemployment in the aftermath of the global crisis will remain a policy priority in most advanced economies at least through 2011, according to a new IMF study. Full article
Capital Surges Can Be Difficult For Recipient Countries. The unprecedented liquidity created by countries to fight the economic crisis could create problems for policymakers in some advanced and emerging market economies with relatively strong growth prospects and higher interest rates, the IMF said in a new report. Full article
IMF Outlines Climate Change Financing Idea. A new staff paper released by the IMF suggests the creation of a "Green Fund," with the capacity to mobilize resources of $100 billion a year by 2020, to help developing countries finance the costs of combating climate change. Full article
Policy
 Regulating Financial System Risk Key Issue in Reforms. Financial regulatory reforms should aim to prevent institutions from being too important to fail, according to the IMF. Full article
Centralized Derivatives Clearing Would Aid Financial System. Derivatives traded between two parties bilaterally rather than on an organized exchange have proliferated in recent years and present a systemic risk to the financial system should the failure of one party or the other to live up to its payment obligations trigger a cascading wave of such failures. The IMF says that counterparty risk could be substantially minimized if bilateral contracts were cleared through a central counterparty (CCP) mechanism, which essentially acts as a counterparty to all counterparties Full article
New Index Measures Strength of Budget Institutions. IMF economists have devised a new index to measure the effectiveness of budget institutions in low-income countries, which could point to ways to strengthen budget processes and improve fiscal performance in these countries. Full article
IMF Strengthens Financial Data Dissemination. In an effort to plug the data gaps that have come to light as a result of the global financial crisis, the IMF will increase the availability and frequency of financial sector data it disseminates through the Special Data Dissemination Standard. Full article
Research
 Moving Toward a More Balanced Global Economy. Global economic imbalances narrowed during the world financial crisis, but a strong and balanced recovery requires this narrowing be made more durable, a new IMF study says. Full article
Putting a Spotlight on Sports and Economics. South Africa is preparing to host the soccer World Cup in June while memories of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games melt away in Vancouver. Finance & Development magazine took the opportunity in its latest issue to look at the intersection of sports and economics. Full article
Analyzing the Crisis and its Aftermath. While governments focus on winding down stimulus measures used to combat the global economic crisis even as unemployment remains high, researchers are looking back at what caused the crisis, how it affected countries differently, and what the long-term implications are. Full article
Interview
 Modest Recovery in Store for Germany. The IMF is forecasting growth in Europe's largest economy of 1.2 percent of GDP this year, followed by 1.7 percent in 2011. Full article
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