The arc of 2021, from tentative recovery to resurgent uncertainty, may feel like more of a circle for many around the world who are understandably weary of the pandemic and eager for a return to normal.
But to monetary and fiscal policymakers—who could be forgiven for also feeling weary amid prolonged crisis—the year ended in a much different place, as many prepare to unwind unprecedented support. That normalization process will demand clear communications despite facing many unknowns.
Interest in such policy challenges is reflected among our most-read 2021 blogs, with readers seeking insight on the widening gaps in the global economic recovery as well as diverging vaccination prospects.
Other issues related to heightened policy challenges and economic uncertainty drew greater audience attention, including soaring inflation and how the hard-won credibility of central banks can contain it.
Amid these hard questions, rapid innovation in digital money caught our readers’ interest on what crypto and other new technologies may mean for financial stability.
As we begin our work to help the world better understand global economic and monetary policy for 2022, here’s one last look back at the year that was, starting with a July blog by IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva that ranked as the most-read post in a busy year of risk and rebound and recovery.
1. Urgent Action Needed to Address a Worsening ‘Two-Track’ Recovery, by Kristalina Georgieva
2. A Proposal to End the COVID-19 Pandemic, by Kristalina Georgieva, Gita Gopinath, and Ruchir Agarwal
3. The Evidence Is in on Negative Interest Rate Policies, by Luis Brandao-Marques and Gaston Gelos
4. Structural Factors and Central Bank Credibility Limit Inflation Risks, by Gita Gopinath
5. Four Facts about Soaring Consumer Food Prices, by Christian Bogmans, Andrea Pescatori, and Ervin Prifti
6. Cryptoassets as National Currency? A Step Too Far, by Tobias Adrian and Rhoda Weeks-Brown
7. Legally Speaking, is Digital Money Really Money? by Catalina Margulis and Arthur Rossi
8. Crypto Boom Poses New Challenges to Financial Stability, by Dimitris Drakopoulos, Fabio Natalucci, and Evan Papageorgiou
9. A Future With High Public Debt: Low-for-Long Is Not Low Forever, by Marcos Chamon and Jonathan D. Ostry
10. Drawing Further Apart: Widening Gaps in the Global Recovery, by Gita Gopinath
Honorable mention: Global Crypto Regulation Should be Comprehensive, Consistent, and Coordinated, by Tobias Adrian, Dong He, and Aditya Narain
