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A Vital Foreign Policy Tool

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
A Vital Foreign Policy Tool

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
A Vital Foreign Policy Tool

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

Econographics

Sep 27, 2024

The IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings in 2024: Five important issues to be addressed

By Hung Tran

Despite intense geopolitical contention that has stymied international cooperation, the October gathering could nevertheless lead to agreements to stabilize a volatile global economy.

Economy & Business International Financial Institutions

Econographics

Sep 20, 2024

Funding the European defense surge

By Konstantinos Mitsotakis

The EU is enhancing defense collaboration and investment but faces challenges in uniting member states and securing common funding.

Economy & Business European Union

Sinographs

Sep 18, 2024

Stabilizing the US-China trade conflict

By Andrea Wong

Both China and the US can still find negotiation space for positive-sum outcomes which advance their economic and national security interests.

China Economy & Business

Econographics

Sep 12, 2024

It’s not too early to start grading Jerome Powell’s historic tenure

By Josh Lipsky and Benjamin Lenain

Jerome Powell’s legacy hinges on his bold monetary actions during crises and how effectively these interventions will be unwound in the future.

Economy & Business Macroeconomics

Econographics

Sep 6, 2024

The problems with the IMF surcharge system

By Hung Tran

The IMF’s surcharge system is doing more harm than good for borrowing countries and its justifications are facing new questions.

Economy & Business Financial Regulation

Econographics

Aug 27, 2024

Going for gold: Does the dollar’s declining share in global reserves matter?

By Hung Tran

If gold—which has recently experienced a surge in purchases by many global central banks—is included in reserve asset portfolios, the share of the US dollar is smaller than what the IMF has highlighted.

Economy & Business International Financial Institutions

Sinographs

Aug 22, 2024

Why the next trade war with China may look very different from the last one

By Mrugank Bhusari

Far more countries share concerns over the impact of an expansion of Chinese exports. This time, they will likely target finished consumer goods over intermediary inputs.

China Economy & Business

Econographics

Aug 14, 2024

Get ready for a volatile fall in the financial markets—but not necessarily a downturn

By Josh Lipsky, Alisha Chhangani

Between an election, the threat of conflict, and a slowing economy, there is likely to be more volatility in the months ahead. But volatility doesn’t mean a downturn—it just means there’s more uncertainty than usual. 

Economy & Business International Markets

Fintech Frontlines

Aug 12, 2024

Tech regulation requires balancing security, privacy, and usability 

By Karen Sowon, Giulia Fanti, JP Schnapper-Casteras

Good policy intentions can lead to unintended consequences when usability, privacy, and security are not balanced—policymakers must think like product designers to avoid these challenges.

Digital Policy East Africa

Econographics

Aug 8, 2024

What exactly is a strategic bitcoin reserve?

By Ananya Kumar

Bringing bitcoin into mainstream use is not reason enough to create a strategic bitcoin reserve. 

Digital Currencies Economy & Business
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EconoGraphics

Jun 9, 2017

A Vital Foreign Policy Tool

By Ole Moehr

This is the first EconoGraphic as part of our recently launched Economic Sanctions Initiative. The initiative aims to promote dialogue between the public and the private sector to investigate how to improve the design and implementation process of economic sanctions.

Economic Sanctions Economy & Business

EconoGraphics

Apr 19, 2017

The European Stability Mechanism

By Lu Ding & Ole Moehr

The global economic and financial crisis, which originated in the United States in 2008, ultimately triggered a sovereign debt crisis in Europe in 2010. As a result of sky high debts, economies lacking in competitiveness, and over lenient banking regulations, the credit ratings of the Eurozone members Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, and Spain plummeted. These countries began facing prohibitively high interest rates when they attempted to borrow from international credit markets.

Economy & Business European Union

EconoGraphics

Mar 17, 2017

The United States Needs Europe And Vice Versa (Pt. 3)

By Lu Ding & Ole Moehr

This EconoGraphic is the final edition of a three-part series on why the United States and Europe need each other. The series highlights excerpts from the EuroGrowth Task Force’s inaugural report on European economic growth and why it matters for US prosperity.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

EconoGraphics

Mar 7, 2017

The United States Needs Europe And Vice Versa (Pt. 2)

By Lu Ding & Ole Moehr

US economic ties with the European Union (27) generate the largest global bilateral trade flows, worth an estimated $2.4 billion per day. The massive volume of US-EU (27) bilateral trade promotes prosperity on both sides of the Atlantic.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

EconoGraphics

Feb 22, 2017

The United States Needs Europe and Vice-Versa

By Lu Ding & Ole Moehr

The United States is the world’s largest recipient of global foreign direct investment (FDI). On a current-cost basis, the US FDI stock was more than three times larger than that of the second largest destination country in 2014, the most recent year from which statistics are available. Despite the current fragile global economy and great political uncertainty, foreign investment in the United States remains strong.

Economy & Business European Union

EconoGraphics

Dec 12, 2016

Refer-Ending Renzi’s Government

By Filippos Letsas

On December 4, Italian voters rejected former Prime Minister Renzi’s constitutional reform referendum. The result of the referendum renewed concerns about the economic recovery in Italy, stability of the Euro, broader European economic integration, and rising populism across Europe. In the week following the referendum, global markets have focused their attention on the ailing Italian banking sector.

Economy & Business Europe & Eurasia

EconoGraphics

Nov 29, 2016

The United States Needs China and Vice-Versa

By Filippos Letsas

Over the last decade, China’s large holdings of US debt have helped the Bank of China keep the value of the renminbi artificially low. This strengthened China’s competitive position in the global markets, allowing for cheaper Chinese exports and contributed significantly to China’s large trade surplus, which now accounts for about half of the total US trade deficit.

China Economy & Business

EconoGraphics

Oct 25, 2016

CETA: Why “Comprehensive” Matters

By Filippos Letsas

On October 14th, the regional parliament of Wallonia, a French-speaking region of 3.6 million people in Belgium, voted to block the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a proposed trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and Canada, which has been negotiated for over 7 years.

Economy & Business European Union

EconoGraphics

Oct 7, 2016

Europe′s Fiscal Burden in Focus

By Filippos Letsas

The European Union’s (EU) Stability and Growth Pact requires Eurozone countries to annually lay out their fiscal plans for the following three years. The European Commission (EC) then compares the member states’ reports with its own projections and those produced by independent bodies, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to evaluate whether the member states are on track to reach their Medium-Term Budgetary Objectives (MTOs).

Economy & Business European Union

EconoGraphics

Sep 30, 2016

Myanmar: Post-Sanctions Landscape

By Filippos Letsas

On the occasion of Myanmar’s State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi’s recent visit to the United States (U.S.), President Obama announced that executive sanctions on Myanmar would soon be lifted. This will grant Myanmar greater access to the U.S. market and encourage U.S. companies to invest in the country. Trade between the two countries remains at relatively low levels (i.e. $225 million in 2015), with U.S. investment to Myanmar accounting for only 0.2% of the country’s Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

Economic Sanctions Economy & Business
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