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Dear MARIA, In today's edition, we highlight: Georgieva on UK economy Empowering women in Japan and Korea Una Osili on the dearth of female African economists New IMF staff papers

UNITED KINGDOM Economy In “Good Place” But Faces Tough Choices (Credit: IMF Photo) The United Kingdom’s economic growth is picking up, inflation is moderating and the authorities are putting in place reforms to enhance medium-term prospects, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told a press conference in London on Tuesday.   Speaking at the conclusion of the country’s annual Article IV consultation, Georgieva said the UK “is in a good place”. The authorities should ensure that economic challenges are addressed with perseverance when tough choices need to be made, she added. Georgieva lauded the government’s following of the fiscal plan set out in November 2022. “We particularly welcome the permanent capital allowances introduced to support business investment and a number of measures to boost labor supply…Looking ahead, there is still the important challenge that we highlighted last year: to stabilize public debt and, at the same time, address pressing public service and investment needs.” On medium-term growth, Georgieva noted that UK authorities have undertaken growth-enhancing reforms and have retained the positive role played by trade in an open economy. She made three recommendations to boost medium-term growth. “First, ease planning restrictions to make housing more affordable, ease labor mobility and encourage business investment...Second, help workers gain new skills…And last, health outcomes. Long-term illness and an aging population are starting to weigh on labor supply.”  Watch the Press Conference

JAPAN AND KOREA Empowering Women Could Boost Fertility and Economic Growth (Credit: imtmphoto/west photo/tongpool; Adobe Stock) Women in Japan and Korea face difficult challenges juggling career and family, from promotion delays after marriage and childbirth to division of household responsibilities to the availability of childcare. Working arrangements are often not family-friendly. And the financial burden associated with raising children affects family decisions on whether to expand their families. Fertility has declined significantly, while at the same time large gender gaps remain in employment and wages.   While the governments of Japan and Korea have acted to support women, including through enhanced childcare and maternity leave policies, more efforts are needed, say the IMF’s Kohei Asao, TengTeng Xu, and Xin Cindy Xu in a new Country Focus article. “In Japan and Korea, policies aimed at closing gender gaps and progressively shifting cultural norms will help increase the growth potential, despite demographic headwinds,” say the authors. “They can also help gradually reverse declining trends in fertility, allowing women in Japan and Korea to manage having a family while pursuing fulfilling careers, and in turn, to contribute significantly to their economies and societies.” The authors offer a number of recommendations that can help to remedy the situation. Reducing “non-regular” employment conditions, encouraging merit-based promotions, and facilitating job mobility can help support more employment and growth opportunities, leading to increases in labor participation among women and in turn, to productivity growth. The productivity gains could be further increased if complemented with measures to support career development and facilitate job mobility for women. Further expanding childcare facilities and facilitating fathers’ contributions to home and childcare, including establishing stronger incentive mechanisms for paternity leave use, are also crucial. Facilitating a cultural shift in the workplace by expanding the use of telework and flexible work arrangement could also support increased participation by women in the labor force, the authors note.   Read more on Women in Science and Technology in Japan and Japan’s Gender Gap.

Economics has seen a significant rise in female researchers in recent years, but not everywhere. In Africa, for example, economics is still a man’s world. Una Osili is a Nigerian economist helping buck that trend. She’s the Associate Dean for Research and International Programs at Indiana University and holds the Efroymson Chair in Economics and Philanthropy. Osili believes Africa would benefit from more donor funding and more African women economists to manage it. She speaks with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe on these issues and more in this podcast.

Weekly Roundup STAFF PAPER Macroeconomic Spillovers From Conflict in Sub-Saharan Africa In the past decade, security conditions within some parts of Sub-Saharan Africa have deteriorated, with well-documented adverse consequences for economic activity, public finances, and development prospects more generally. The effects of security incidents extend beyond the borders of the affected nations, and policymakers in the region are becoming increasingly concerned about the potential spillover effects of conflict. A new IMF staff paper aims to quantify the cross-country conflict spillover effects across sub-Saharan African countries, and proposes a new Conflict Spillover Index, which integrates various elements of conflict such as fatalities and geographic proximity into a comprehensive metric that captures conflict spillovers to a given country. STAFF PAPER Emerging Markets' Central Bank Interventions During COVID The COVID-19 shock undermined the functioning of financial markets and resulted in unprecedented central bank interventions in advanced economies and emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) alike. This new staff paper examines central bank interventions to maintain financial stability during the COVID-19 pandemic. It identifies lessons for designing future programs to address challenges faced in EMDEs, including less-developed financial markets and lower levels of institutional credibility. The paper's focus is on the functioning of the financial markets that are key to maintaining financial stability—money, securities, and foreign exchange funding markets.

Thank you again very much for your interest in the Weekend Read! Be sure to let us know what issues and trends we should have on our radar.

Miriam Van Dyck Editor IMF Weekend Read mvandyck@IMF.org