Featured analysis

Zambia: A template for debt restructuring?

Econographics May 12, 2025

Multilateralism under pressure: Takeaways from the 2025 IMF Spring Meetings

By Bart Piasecki

The 2025 IMF Spring Meetings unfolded against a backdrop of mounting geopolitical tensions, economic fragmentation, and rising doubts about the future of multilateral cooperation. Here are the key insights.
International Financial Institutions Macroeconomics
Zambia: A template for debt restructuring?

Econographics May 8, 2025

Pope Leo XIV’s electors represented Catholics’ changing economic distribution

By Israel Rosales

While the direction Pope Leo XIV will take the Church is unclear at this early stage, he’s unlikely to reverse Pope Francis’s push to elevate voices from the Global South.
Economy & Business International Financial Institutions
Zambia: A template for debt restructuring?

Sinographs Mar 12, 2025

China’s economic plans prioritize consumption—but only on paper

By Jeremy Mark

At last week’s meeting of the National People’s Congress, China declared consumption as the number one priority. But will the spending plans actually support consumers and businesses?
China Economy & Business

COMMENTARY & ANALYSIS

Econographics deep dives

Special sections that go inside the Chinese economy, the evolution of sanctions, and the future of money.

 

Sinographs

In-depth analysis of economic and financial trends in the Chinese economy.

Fintech frontlines

Research and analysis on the intersection of technology and policy developments in finance.

Global sanctions dashboard

Monthly analysis of global sanctions regimes—highlighting new listings, delistings, and the motivations behind these changes.

Latest analysis

Bulk carrier ship in river port. Dry cargo grain elevator trade. Agrarian maritime facility. Cargo ship in the sea. Sunset view. factory on the water.

Econographics

Apr 5, 2024

Ukraine’s grain exports are crucial to Africa’s food security

By Yulia Bychkovska

Moscow is trying to increase Africa’s dependence on its imports by blocking the exports of Ukrainian grain. By helping Ukraine sell its grain, the West can offer the African continent an alternative to Russia’s grain and decrease Russia’s profits.

Africa Economic Sanctions

Econographics

Mar 28, 2024

Understanding the debate over IMF quota reform

By Hung Tran

The politics and mathematics of reform are tougher than they appear. A simple reform matching quotas to global economic weight will not be welcomed by many countries.

Africa China

Econographics

Mar 26, 2024

Housing costs are slowing down the US climate transition

By Joseph Webster

The US housing shortage has profound economic consequences. Less discussed is the fact that it is slowing down the US climate transition.

Energy Transitions Financial Regulation
World Bank-IMF Meeting in Marrakesh

Econographics

Mar 25, 2024

Making Africa a top priority for Bretton Woods Institutions

By Amin Mohseni-Cheraghlou

With deeper engagement of Bretton Woods institutions, African economies can seize the moment and become the engine of global growth.

Africa Fiscal and Structural Reform
Blue Globe viewing from space at night with connections between cities

Econographics

Mar 20, 2024

Global Sanctions Dashboard: How Hamas raises, uses, and moves money

By Kimberly Donovan, Maia Nikoladze, Ryan Murphy, and Alessandra Magazzino

How Hamas raises, uses, and moves money; How sanctions are used to counter Hamas and combat the financing of terrorism; Where governments align and diverge in their approaches to combat this activity.

Economic Sanctions European Union

Econographics

Mar 14, 2024

CBDCs will need to work across borders. Here are the models exploring how to do it

By Ananya Kumar, Alisha Chhangani

These innovative models reflect a clear realization in the both the public and private sector— as CBDCs become a part of the financial landscape, there needs to be a mechanism to interchange them across borders.

Digital Currencies Economy & Business

Econographics

Mar 12, 2024

Stalled growth in the UK, Germany, and Japan darken global economic outlook

By Josh Lipsky, Alisha Chhangani

The world’s two largest economies won’t be able to generate enough growth for the UK, Germany, and Japan—it is going to have to happen from within.

Economy & Business Fiscal and Structural Reform

Econographics

Mar 8, 2024

How banking regulations affect US foreign policy

By Charles Lichfield

Economics, finance, and national security overlap. Obvious areas include sanctions and trade policy. But US foreign policymaker are now also expected to develop some knowledge of critical minerals . Banking regulations may seem a step too far, but they too carry foreign policy implications.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

Econographics

Mar 7, 2024

Unpacking China’s 2024 growth target and economic agenda

By Hung Tran

At the opening of China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) Premier Li Quang delivered his first Government Work Report, setting the key economic and social policies and targets for this year.

China Economy & Business

Econographics

Mar 1, 2024

Climate, drought, and the disrupted future of global trade

By Amin Mohseni-Cheraghlou, Sophia Busch

Climate change threatens the efficient functioning of waterways, canals, and seaports—and therefore is a major threat to global trade.

Climate Change & Climate Action Economy & Business
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Content

Econographics

Sep 8, 2022

Zambia: A template for debt restructuring?

By Hung Tran

Zambia shows that progress can be made to render the Common Framework more workable. However, more needs to be done to refine a comprehensive, efficient, and effective sovereign debt restructuring procedure.

Africa China
Dollar Currency Exchange rate

Econographics

Sep 7, 2022

Don’t expect a Plaza Accord 2.0 to reverse the dollar’s surge

By Mrugank Bhusari

Neither China, nor the original participants of the Plaza Accord, are willing to engage in such market intervention to return a soaring dollar to normal levels.

China Economy & Business

Econographics

Aug 25, 2022

Delisting Chinese companies from the New York Stock Exchange: Signs of decoupling

By Hung Tran

China’s decision to delist five companies from the NYSE is motivated by its unwillingness to comply with US regulations.

China Economy & Business

Econographics

Aug 24, 2022

Delayed but not defeated: The road ahead for a global minimum corporate tax

By Jeff Goldstein

Although the implementation process has been rocky and delayed, the incentives and motivation to move forward do exist, and the global minimum corporate tax is likely to advance.

Economy & Business European Union

Econographics

Aug 16, 2022

US climate spending may soon match that of developed peers

By Sophia Busch, Carrie Hsu

Now that the US has passed the Inflation Reduction Act, its spending commitments on climate adaption and mitigation may match those for the UK and EU through 2025.

Economy & Business United Kingdom

Econographics

Aug 12, 2022

Summer reading list: Future of money edition

By Ananya Kumar

These are our top picks for your summer reading list on the future of money: everything from trying to understand the news better to what’s next in the world of innovation.

Digital Currencies Digital Policy

Econographics

Aug 3, 2022

Trading geopolitics: The US-Chinese capital markets

By Elmar Hellendoorn

Increased Chinese-Western capital market integration is just one scenario. Instead, ”strong decoupling” or “muddling through” may prove more likely.

China Economy & Business

Econographics

Aug 2, 2022

The global slowdown: Why Sub-Saharan Africa is so important

By Amin Mohseni-Cheraghlou and Naomi Aladekoba

The global community, with the leadership of the IMF and the World Bank, needs to focus on Sub-Saharan Africa. While the population in countries that have moved into the high-income and upper middle-income categories are now aging rapidly, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to one of the world’s youngest population structure. In addition to lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty in this region, sustained and inclusive growth over the next two decades in Sub-Saharan Africa could contribute to the growth in the global economy.

Africa Economy & Business

Econographics

Jul 28, 2022

Keeping everyone in the club: How sanctions complicate the Bretton Woods Institutions’ job

By Mrugank Bhusari, Maia Nikoladze, Amin Mohseni-Cheraghlou

With a voting majority at the Bretton Woods Institutions, the G7 and EU can collectively ask the institutions to comply with their sanctions. This is complicating the IMF and World Bank's functions.

Economic Sanctions Economy & Business

Econographics

Jul 28, 2022

When does an economy enter recession?

By Charles Lichfield, Sophia Busch

US GDP growth was negative for two consecutive quarters, fulfilling textbook definitions of a recession. Regardless of definition, this period of contraction is different from previous periods with a much tighter labor market.

Economy & Business International Markets
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