Top 20 -- iMFdirect's Top 20 list

Three years after the launch of iMFdirect as a forum for discussing economic issues around the world, we look back at some of our most popular posts.

The IMF blog has helped stimulate considerable debate about economic policy in the current crisis, on events in Europe and around the world in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East, on fiscal adjustment, on regulating the financial sector, and the future of macroeconomics--as economists learn lessons from the Great Recession.

As readers struggled to understand the implications of the crisis, our most popular post by far was IMF Chief Economist Olivier Blanchard's Four Hard Truths, a look back at 2011 and the economic lessons for the future.

Here's our Top 20 list of our most popular posts by subject (from more than 300 posts):

1. Global Crisis: Four Hard Truths; Driving With the Brakes On

2. Financial Stability: What's Still to Be Done?

3. Fiscal Policy: Ten Commandments ; Striking the Right Balance

4. Macroeconomic Policy: Rewriting the Playbook; Nine Tentative Conclusions ; Future Study

5. Financial Sector: Fair and Substantial--Taxing the Financial Sector ; Bond markets

6. Macroprudential policy: Macro ... What?

7. Lessons from Crisis Countries: Iceland ; Greece ; Latvia

8. Europe: Growing Pains-Europe's Dilemma ; U.K. ; Eastern Europe

9. Africa: Africa and the Great Recession: Changing Times; Confessions of a Dismal Scientist ; Janus

10. Asia: China: The Art of Balance ; India Investment ; Japan Stands Up; Quest for Inclusive growth

11. Middle East: Why the Arab World Needs an Economic Spring ; Financing the Transition