IMF interesting,latest news

 

The latest IMF analysis of global economics, finance, development and policy issues shaping the world //

VIEW IN BROWSER    Dear maria, We recently published a new blog—please find the full text below. Translations coming soon. IMF Summer Reads By IMFBlog A book is a must, as you head off to visit family and friends, or take time off during the summer to unwind.  A good book can bring in new thinking and perspective from the past. And it can inspire and motivate us to act.   Below you’ll find some additions to your summer reading list, and possibly some food for thought, based on recent book reviews selected by our editors at Finance & Development (F&D). Rebellion, Rascals, and Revenue: Tax Follies and Wisdom through the Ages by Michael Keen and Joel Slemrod “This is a rare find that can and should be read and enjoyed not only by experts but by anyone who has ever had questions about taxation. As Michael Keen (of the IMF) and Joel Slemrod (University of Michigan) show, ‘taxes are us’ in the sense that everywhere and always, they change and develop with the times,” Richard Bird writes in his review. Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez “Criado Perez emphasizes that the ‘male unless indicated otherwise’ approach to all aspects of life and the myth of ‘male universality’ are not malicious or even deliberate, but are the product of thinking that has been around for millennia,” Kalpana Kolchar writes. The Data Detective: Ten Easy Rules to Make Sense of Statistics by Tim Harford “Building on well-researched examples across domains and time, Harford reminds us of key steps to take when analyzing a series of statistics, including maintaining some distance so as not to be influenced by our biases and personal experiences, which may not be representative; pausing and reflecting before coming to a conclusion; and, as a detective would, asking simple questions (What are we trying to measure? What is the sample or universe used?) to get a sense of context and perspective,” Louis Marc Ducharme writes. Boom and Bust: A Global History of Financial Bubbles by William Quinn and John D. Turner “From the Mississippi and the South Sea bubbles of the early 1700s to the subprime and Chinese excesses of the 2000s, Boom and Bust: A Global History of Financial Bubbles provides a fascinating guide through a historical journey of speculative financial crises,” writes Fabio Natalucci. Angrynomics by Eric Longeman and Mark Blyth “Despite what its title may suggest, Angrynomics is about more than just anger and economics. In fact, it’s composed of three interrelated topics: a history of capitalism over the past 150 years, an analysis of the current discontent (the anger), and a set of proposals for the future,” Antonio Spilimbergo writes. Finally, F&D also has a tradition of featuring articles by authors of new, thought-provoking books. An example of this is the article “What We Owe Each Other” by Minouche Shafik, based on her book. Shafik argues that it’s time for a new social contract fit for the 21st century, writing that “harnessing everyone’s talents is not just an issue of fairness; it is also good for the economy.” . IMFBlog Thank you again for your interest in IMF Blog. Read more of our latest content here. Take good care, Glenn Gottselig Blog Editor, IMF GGottselig@IMF.org The latest IMF analysis of global economics, finance, development and policy issues shaping the world //   Dear maria, In today's edition we discuss the divergence in vaccine access between advanced economies and emerging and developing economies, and renew our focus on Special Drawing Rights.  We look at the impact of investment in public infrastructure, and how to achieve inclusion economics.  And finally, we consider a key meeting which led to the end of the gold standard, and profile some of the most influential women in the field of economics. Weekend Read will take a break for the summer and will be back on September 10th.  But before bidding you a good vacation, we leave you with this: COMING TOGETHER 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, warn Vitor Gaspar and Gita Gopinath. 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. Without resolute measures to address this growing divide, COVID‑19 will continue to claim lives and destroy jobs, inflicting lasting damage to investment, productivity, and growth in the most vulnerable countries. The pandemic will further disrupt the lives of the most vulnerable, and countries will see a rise in extreme poverty and malnutrition, shattering all hope of attaining the Sustainable Development Goals. Narrowing the pandemic divide requires collective action to boost access to vaccines, secure critical financing, and accelerate the transition to a greener, digital, and more inclusive world. Interested in learning more? Read the full blog here. US$650 BILLION SDR ALLOCATION OF SPECIAL DRAWING RIGHTS Last week, the Board of Governors of the IMF approved a general allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) equivalent to US$650 billion (about SDR 456 billion). A move which will help boost global liquidity.  But what exactly is an SDR?  How will it increase global liquidity? And how could an SDR allocation help low-income countries? The answers to these questions and more can be found here  PUTTING PUBLIC INVESTMENT TO WORK 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, writes Mariano Moszoro. 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 and sector—electricity, roads, schools, hospitals, and water and sanitation.  Our latest chart of the week shows average estimates, by sector, of the number of jobs that additional investments create along the supply chain.  Read the full blog here. THREE DAYS AT CAMP DAVID: HOW A SECRET MEETING IN 1971 TRANSFORMED THE GLOBAL ECONOMY In a book review for F&D, the IMF's resident historian, Atish Rex Ghosh,  considers a new publication by Jeffrey E. Garten about a seminal meeting in 1971 called by then-U.S. president, Richard Nixon, when he summoned his leading financial officials to a meeting at the presidential retreat, Camp Davivd, over the weekend of August 13–15. The meeting was instrumental in Nixon's decision to close the “gold window” and led to the collapse of the Bretton Woods system of fixed exchange rates.  "It would be trite to say that Garten’s book belongs on every international economist’s bookshelf. It doesn’t, writes Ghosh.  "It belongs on their bedside tables as light, but thoroughly enjoyable, reading," he adds. Interested in reading the full review? Check it out here. INCLUSION ECONOMICS Inclusion doesn't just happen; it takes policies that intentionally serve the very specific purpose of ensuring inclusion. That is the focus of Rohini Pande's work these days as the Director of Yale's Economic Growth Center. Pande is one of the most influential development economists of her generation, always looking for ways for the poor to increase their influence and claim their fair share of growth.  She speaks with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe about how tackling poverty depends less on direct aid and more on creating effective democratic institutions so that vulnerable populations can push their representatives to implement redistributive policies.  Listen to the podcast here. IMF SUMMER READS A book is a must, as you head off to visit family and friends, or take time off during the summer to unwind. A good book can bring in new thinking and perspective from the past. It can also inspire and motivate. We suggest some additions to your summer reading list, and possibly some food for thought, based on a selection of recent book reviews by our editors at Finance & Development (F&D). Click here for the full list WOMEN IN ECONOMICS Women remain underrepresented in economics, yet many have made an outsized impact on the field. Whether it’s in working to eliminate poverty, reinventing development economics, examining social safety nets, or improving democratic institutions, Finance & Development magazine has regularly highlighted the contributions made by women economists. In F&D’s People in Economics series, the work of women economists has featured prominently. To add to your summer reading list, we list some profiles from recent years of the important thinkers who are leaving a mark. Click here for the full article. IMF AROUND THE WORLD The IMF issued a report which considered a request by Cameroon for a three-year arrangement, while IMF staff also concluded their regular Article IV consultations with, among others, Antigua and Barbuda and the Philippines. The IMF issues a Disaster Resilience Strategy for Dominica, the country with the highest GDP losses to climate-related natural disasters.  Also, a report which considers areas of fiscal risk vulnerabilities and reform priorities for the Republic of Estonia. Public financial management (PFM) consists of all the government’s institutional arrangements in place to facilitate the implementation of fiscal policies. In response to the growing urgency to fight climate change, “green PFM” aims at adapting existing PFM practices to support climate-sensitive policies RESPONDING TO THE CRISIS: To date, 85 countries have received more than $113 billion in financial assistance in response to the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis. Find out more in our  lending tracker, which visualizes the latest emergency financial assistance and debt relief to member countries approved by the IMF’s Executive Board. Overall, the IMF is currently making about $250 billion, a quarter of its $1 trillion lending capacity, available to member countries. Looking for our Q&A about the IMF's response to COVID-19? Click here. We are also continually producing a special series of notes—about 100 to date—by IMF experts to help members address the economic effects of COVID-19 on a range of topics including fiscal, legal, statistical, tax and more. HAVE YOUR SAY Thank you again very much for your interest in the Weekend Read. We really appreciate your time. If you have any questions, comments or feedback of any kind, please do write me a note. We would love to hear from you. Sincerely, Hyun-Sung Khang Deputy Editor, IMF Weekend Read HKhang@imf.org

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION latest

 

José Zayas-Castro to lead the NSF Division of Engineering Education and Centers 08/09/2021 You are subscribed to News - Engineering (ENG) for National Science Foundation Update. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. José Zayas-Castro to lead the NSF Division of Engineering Education and Centers 07/29/2021 11:52 AM EDT The U.S. National Science Foundation has selected Dr. José Luis Zayas-Castro of the University of South Florida to serve as division director for the Division of Engineering Education and Centers. Zayas-Castro, who begins his NSF term on August 2, is currently executive associate dean, associate dean for international affairs, and professor of industrial and management systems engineering in the USF College of Engineering. "Dr. Jose Zayas-Castro is an inspiring leader whose ... Read more on NSF This is an NSF News - Engineering item. Check out the latest from NSF’s Science Matters blog 08/10/2021 SCIENCE MATTERS sciencematters@nsf.gov Check out the latest from NSF’s Science Matters blog. Tuesday, August 10, 2021 Research from the field of science and technology studies offers strategies for broadening participation in STEM How is scientific knowledge created? How does a scientist's identity shape the results and interpretation of their research? What are the social and cultural impacts of how scientific knowledge is shared with the public and policymakers? What are the relationships between scientific research and ethics, laws and government? These are just a few of the questions currently being asked by researchers in the field of science and technology studies, or STS, that could help point the way forward in developing a more inclusive and accessible scientific enterprise. Continue Reading

GLOBAL AGRICULTURAL INFORMATION NETWORK(CAIN) latest

The following GAIN reports were released on August 13, 2021. _______   India: India - A Thumbs Up for Soybean Meal Imports Possibly Post’s sources inform that the Indian government is allowing for the import of up to 1.5 million metric tons (MMT) of foreign-origin soybean meal (including that derived from GE-soybeans) at a 16.5 percent basic customs duty. Final approval granting market access for soybean meal (including that derived from GE-soybeans) will made by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. However, due to the absence of any notification, or official written guidance from the Indian government at present, there is high uncertainty on how this import quota will be implemented through October 31, 2021.   South Africa: Cyber-Attack Cripples Operations at the Port of Durban for the Second Time in a Month Days after the Port of Durban resumed operations after a period of civil unrest brought the terminal to a standstill, South Africa’s state-owned port, rail, and pipeline authority, Transnet, announced that a cyber-attack had again crippled the flow of goods in and out of the country. Transnet was forced to declare force majeure for the second time in a month after the cyber-attack on July 22, which forced port workers to manually track ship movements and resort to a paper-based clearance process for cargo at the Ports of Durban, Cape Town, Ngqura, and Gqeberha. The Port of Durban is the largest port terminal in sub-Saharan Africa, and 60 percent of Southern Africa’s containerized trade passes through the harbor. As a result of the cyber-attack, the processing time for imported cargo slowed dramatically as workers were only able to process about three containers per hour, according to Post’s contacts.   Thailand: Rice Price - Weekly Export prices of all grades of rice decreased 1-2 percent due to limited new inquiries and a further weakening of the Thai baht against the U.S. dollar.   Vietnam: Vietnam Organic Market Vietnam’s consumption of health and wellness products has significantly increased in recent years as its consumers become more affluent and health conscious. Although organic food and beverages remain a niche segment of the overall health and wellness market, U.S. exports of organic agricultural products to Vietnam doubled in 2020 despite an economic downturn due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A growing middle-class, higher disposable incomes, and increased concerns about health, combined with a limited domestic supply, are key factors that make Vietnam a potential growth market for imported organic food and beverage products.   For more information, or for an archive of all FAS GAIN reports, please visit gain.fas.usda.gov/.

EUROPEAN BANK's latest news

 

EBRD, donors and QNB ALAHLI boost green investments in Egypt 16-08-2021 03:00 PM BST US$ 50 million financial package for on-lending to small businesses and households