IMF:G20 Summit | COP26 | Global Data | India | Sub-Saharan Africa | Supply Chains

 

Dear maria, Welcome to the Weekend Read! In today's edition we focus on an agenda for G20 leaders, the start of COP26, the role of the IMF in battling climate change, the need for a global approach to data in the digital age, India's outlook, sub-Saharan Africa's winding road, inflation expectations, and much more.  G20 Summit (PHOTO: REMO CASILLI/REUTERS/NEWSCOM) The G20's Urgent To-do List Ahead of the G20 leaders summit in Rome this weekend, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva laid out three big tasks the G20 can undertake to help drive a more durable and equitable recovery: End the pandemic by closing financing gaps and sharing vaccine doses. Help developing countries cope financially. Commit to a comprehensive package to reach net-zero carbon emissions by mid-century. Read the Blog Read the IMF Report to the G20 COP26 COP26: Building Support for Climate Action  The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) starts next week in Glasgow, Scotland. Climate change presents a major threat to people's lives and to countries' long-term growth and prosperity, and it has a direct impact on the economic well-being of all countries. The IMF has an important role to play, helping its members address climate change through fiscal and macroeconomic policies. Visit our new "Countdown to COP26" website to find out more about how the IMF is addressing the challenge of climate change.   Did you also know that the latest, climate-themed issue of Finance & Development Magazine was produced in conjunction with COP 26? Read the Full September Finance & Development Issue on Climate F&D Magazine F&D: Climate Cooperation On the eve of COP26, it's worth noting how the IMF is putting climate change at the heart of its work with member countries. In the latest issue of Finance & Development Magazine, produced in conjunction with COP26, the IMF's Eddie Buckley explains how the Fund is approaching climate work in five key areas.  Read the full article on the web or download a PDF. Read the Full September Finance & Development Issue Want to get a print copy delivered to your home or office? Click here. Global Data A Global Approach to the Data in the Digital Age Data is the ultimate portable good, but moving it across borders requires countries to have coherent policies that build trust. Without global principles for managing data, we could face deepening digital fault lines between nations, as massive data pools become increasingly isolated. This would be especially costly for smaller and lower-income countries, the IMF's Vikram Haksar, Yan Carrière-Swallow, Kathleen Kao, and Gabriel Quirós-Romero write in a new blog. As part of a new staff paper, the authors make a case for common global principles, such as a common understanding of definitions in government rules to protect personal privacy. Read the Blog Read the Staff Paper (Photo: iStock by Getty images/BDphoto)   MF Podcast: India's Outlook In our latest podcast, Luis Breuer, IMF Senior Representative to India, Nepal and Bhutan, says India is recovering thanks to its response and scaled-up vaccine production but the pandemic is still clouding the country's outlook. (Photo: peeterv by Getty Images)   Africa at a Crucial Point Sub-Saharan Africa is set to grow by 3.7 percent in 2021. This welcomed rebound is relatively modest by global standards, leading to a widening income disparity with developed economies. A new Country Focus article tells the story of the forecast for the region in seven charts.  (Photo: IMF Photo/Lisa Marie David)   Resurgence and Recovery A resurgent virus is keeping Asia's recovery slower than it should be, IMF Asia and Pacific Department Director Changyong Rhee writes in an op-ed this week. Policymakers should carefully navigate the uncertainties and adjust their policy responses accordingly. Quote of the Week “Making sure that there is much more improved access to vaccines … is going to be important to putting this pandemic behind us and look forward to an economic recovery.”   —IMF African Department Director Abebe Aemro Selassie in an interview on CGTN America's "The Heat" WEEKLY ROUND-UPΙ 01. Caution over Inflation Dynamics "We need to be very watchful about what is happening with inflation," IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said this week on CNBC's "Closing Bell." She said supply and demand mismatches combined with supply-side disruption is putting upward pressure on prices. "We expect this pressure to continue all the way until mid-next year, maybe all the way to end of 2022," she said in a wide-ranging interview that also discussed climate change and carbon taxes. 02. Regional Economic Outlook: Caucasus and Central Asia “There are opportunities to move the region from being a corridor to a platform in terms of trade and the global value chain,” Jihad Azour, Director, Middle East and Central Asia Department, said in a panel discussion this week on the outlook for the Caucasus and Central Asia. The event on the IMF's recently released Regional Economic Outlook for the Caucasus and Central Asia featured Martin Galstyan, Governor of the Central Bank of Armenia; Murat Koshenov, Deputy Chairman, Halyk Bank; and Johannes F. Linn, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution. The panel covered everything from policies to accelerate growth and safeguard financial stability to the forces that could undermine the fragile recovery. Watch the Discussion 03. Strengthening the Credibility of Public Finances Raphael Espinoza of the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department presented key findings of the latest Fiscal Monitor at an October 28 seminar organized by the Centre for Policy Research and the Graduate Institute of Geneva. Espinoza says that the debt accumulated by countries during the pandemic has created difficult policy tradeoffs. But these tradeoffs are easier to manage when countries have sound public finances, with a credible set of rules and institutions to guide them. The seminar was moderated by CEPR’s Beatrice Weder di Mauro and also featured Giancarlo Corsetti of the University of Cambridge. Watch the event. 03. Stronger Economic Foundations IMF Deputy Managing Director Antoinette M. Sayeh chaired a Capacity Development Dialogue with about 20 development partners of the IMF on October 28, focusing on how to regain momentum towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), foster an inclusive recovery, strengthen resilience, and build a sustainable foundation for long-term growth. Vitor Gaspar, Director of the Fiscal Affairs Department; Rhoda Weeks-Brown, General Counsel and Director of the Legal Department; and Roger Nord, Deputy Director of the Institute for Capacity Development, also joined the event. Get a longer recap here.   MARK YOUR CALENDARS 01. The IMF's Annual Research Conference The International Monetary Fund will hold its 22nd Jacques Polak Annual Research Conference virtually on November 4-5, 2021. The conference will focus on strategies to bring about a resilient recovery by boosting growth and reducing inequality across and within countries. Some highlights include a conversation between IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath and Raghuram Rajan of the University of Chicago on vaccines and divergence and the Mundell-Fleming Lecture by Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas of the University of California-Berkley. 02. Tax Avoidance in Africa's Mining Sector The IMF is hosting a high-level panel discussion on Friday, November 5 at 8 a.m. ET on tax avoidance in sub-Saharan Africa’s mining sector. The event, moderated by IMF Deputy Managing Director Antoinette M. Sayeh, will feature Ipumbu Shiimi, Minister of Finance of Namibia; Lassané Kaboré, Minister of Economy, Finance and Development of Burkina Faso; Tom Butler, former CEO of the International Council on Mining and Metals; and Léonce Ndikumana, a member of the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Taxation. The panel will discuss the importance of mining in sub-Saharan Africa, the role of multinational enterprises (MNEs), and how mining needs to contribute to financing public spending and economic recovery. The panel will also examine new evidence from an IMF departmental paper. Watch the event live. Chart of the Week Our latest chart of the week blog by the IMF's Parisa Kamali and Alex (Shiyao) Wang shows suppliers’ delivery times in the United States and the European Union have hit record highs since late 2020 (the data goes back to 2007). The recent sharp drop in the delivery times index reflects surging demand, widespread supply constraints, or a combination of both. During such times, suppliers usually have greater pricing power, causing a rise in prices. Adam Behsudi Editor IMF Weekend Read abehsudi@IMF.org   P.S. As COP26 starts next week, make sure to read our latest, climate-themed issue of Finance & Development Magazine produced in conjunction with COP26.