IMF Survey Magazine: What the Numbers Show

IMFSurvey Magazine: What the Numbers Show

Wine cellar in Capian in southwestern France. In 2013 the city of Dijon in France sold off half of its municipal wine cellar to help fund social spending. (photo: Newscom)

Countries Explore Sales of Nonfinancial Assets to Help Reduce Debt

May 08, 2013

Governments across the world are exploring whether they could use their nonfinancial assets, such as land and buildings, to help ease their deficit and debt burdens. Yet according to a new IMF study, it is still unclear how much revenue the asset sales can really yield.

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History Sheds Light on Governments’ Fiscal Policy Decisions

January 28, 2013
As policymakers across the world are assessing the need for spending cuts and tax increases against the risk of triggering a new recession, a look back at history provides insights from those who grappled with similar challenges in past decades.

Emerging, Developing Economies Now More Resilient

September 27, 2012
Many emerging and developing economies did well over the past decade and through the global financial crisis. Analysis in the IMF's latest World Economic Outlook suggests this resilience is likely to continue, but governments will need to ensure adequate policy space.

IMF Tracks Fiscal Rules Used in Crisis Response

July 25, 2012
With the focus on stronger national rules in Europe and elsewhere in the world, new IMF research will assist policymakers in designing fiscal rules that help bolster their countries' fiscal positions.

Is Labor Compensation Still Falling in Advanced Economies?

May 24, 2012
A new IMF study finds that the share of national income received by labor has evolved quite differently across advanced economies since the start of the Great Recession, with the greatest losses observed in the United States, Greece, and Spain.

Regulators Identify Data Needs to Track Shadow Banks

September 29, 2011
In the wake of the global financial crisis, regulators agree that they need to know more about the shadow banking sector, a panel discussion hears, particularly since bank-like activities by nonbanks were the catalyst for the biggest global financial crisis since the Great Depression.

Rising Oil Prices Highlight Need for Diversification

March 23, 2011
World oil prices are back above $100 a barrel, more than double levels two years ago, but increased diversification of energy supplies has given many economies greater resilience to price fluctuations. However, countries remain vulnerable to supply disruptions and extreme oil price volatility.

Statistical Agencies Must Still Overcome Number of Challenges

October 25, 2010
On the first-ever celebration of World Statistics Day, panelists at an IMF-World Bank conference to mark the occasion offered suggestions on how to make the world statistical system more robust and better equipped to cope with the new and diverse needs and sources for data.

Asian Real Estate Markets: On Bubble Alert?

June 02, 2010
While much of the world continues to grapple with the housing bust, housing prices and sales in some Asian economies have recovered quickly, which might pose risks to financial stability, according to a recent IMF study.

Did Foreign Reserves Help Weather the Crisis?

October 08, 2009
Did the large accumulation of international reserves in many emerging economies mitigate the impact of the financial crisis? While country authorities believe reserves have helped, hard econometric evidence that they have seems hard to come by.

Global Recession Triggers Slump in World Trade Volumes

January 28, 2009
Global output and trade plummeted in the final months of 2008, and the IMF said it expects world trade volumes to contract this year, falling by 2.8 percent.

Commodity Prices Rebound on Supply Shortfalls

October 12, 2012
Commodity prices, led by food and energy, leapt 10 percent in the third quarter due to supply constraints, according to the latest IMF research.

Global House Prices Still Showing Down Trend

September 17, 2012
U.S. house prices have started to pick up but globally prices are still on a down trend, according to IMF research. Price trends vary widely between countries, with Ireland, Greece, Portugal, and Spain seeing the biggest falls in the past year and Brazil and Germany, substantial increases.

Global Economy Learns to Absorb Oil Price Hikes

May 25, 2012
Despite a fourfold increase in oil prices over the past decade, the world has absorbed the price hikes with relatively little disruption due to fundamental changes in the workings of the global economy, and better policies to cope with the rise.

Will House Prices Keep Falling?

January 12, 2012
Globally, house prices remain in the doldrums. After a decade of boom, the global house price index peaked in the fourth quarter of 2007 and since then has fallen or remained flat, according to IMF research.

More Work Needed to Close Information Gaps

April 13, 2011
Senior officials, meeting at a two-day conference on implementing the Group of Twenty (G-20) data gaps recommendations, said that work on financial sector statistics, international financial network connections, and shadow banking remain the top priorities.

Public Debt Database Maps 120 Years of Saving, Spending

February 02, 2011
The policy choices and decisions countries face as they emerge from the worst economic crisis in 80 years have a lot to do with their past habits, and a new IMF database can help them chart a future course.

Bouncing Between Floors? Globally, House Prices are Up and Down

October 08, 2010
Real estate markets have been a source of strength during past economic recoveries, but this time is different, according to IMF research.

Comparing Recessions in Germany, Spain, and United Kingdom

November 18, 2009
While the global financial crisis and recession have hit all of Europe’s economies, the impact has varied considerably across countries. Output and employment, for instance, have moved quite differently in Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom, three of the larger European countries, according to IMF research.

Households Hit Hard by Wealth Losses

June 24, 2009
The financial crisis has erased a considerable amount of household wealth in many advanced economies. The precipitous fall in asset prices—across equity, bond, and housing markets—has eroded the value of financial and housing assets and the net worth of households, according to IMF research.

Commodity Prices Slump, Less Appetite for Oil Amid Downturn

December 10, 2008
Commodity prices have plummeted on expectations of a sharp global downturn, as demand for commodities has weakened in tandem with world economic activity.

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