{ "title": "A New Bretton Woods Moment", "publication": "IMF News, October 15, 2020", "sourceUrl": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2020/10/15/sp101520-a-new-bretton-woods-moment", "canonical": "https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2020/10/15/sp101520-a-new-bretton-woods-moment", "overlayPath": "/en/news/articles/2020/10/15/sp101520-a-new-bretton-woods-moment/index.md", "summary": "\"We can do better than build back the pre-pandemic world – we can build forward to a world that is more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive.\" - Kristalina Georgieva", "authors": [ "Kristalina Georgieva" ], "publishDate": "2020-10-15", "sections": [ { "heading": "Introduction: ‘A sisterhood and brotherhood of humanity’", "content": "- Pandemic has already cost \"more than a million lives.\"\n- The world economy will be \"4.4 % smaller this year\" and the crisis will \"strip an estimated $11 trillion of output by next year.\"\n- The crisis has produced \"untold human desperation\" and rising poverty \"for the first time in decades.\"\n- Immediate priority: \"beat the pandemic\" — health measures, production and distribution of effective therapies and vaccines, and ensuring that \"all countries have access.\"\n- Continue support for workers and businesses \"until a durable exit from the health crisis.\"\n- The global response so far:\n - \"Global fiscal actions of $12 trillion.\"\n - \"Major central banks have expanded balance sheets by $7.5 trillion.\"\n - These synchronized measures have prevented destructive macro-financial feedback seen in previous crises.\n- Warning: many countries remain hurt, especially emerging market and developing economies; there is \"a weak tail of banks in many in emerging markets.\"\n- Characterization of recovery: a \"Long Ascent\" — \"difficult, uneven, uncertain—and prone to setbacks\" but \"a climb up.\"\n- Opportunity: address persistent problems—low productivity, slow growth, high inequalities, and climate crisis—and \"build forward\" to a world \"more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive.\"" }, { "heading": "Building Forward: Three Imperatives", "content": "- Imperative 1 — The right economic policies:\n - \"Prudent macroeconomic policies and strong institutions\" are critical for growth, jobs, and improved living standards.\n - \"One size does not fit all—policies must be tailored to individual country needs.\"\n - Support should remain essential for some time; withdrawing too early \"risks grave and unwarranted economic harm.\"\n - Support should be \"broader early on and more targeted as countries begin to recover.\"\n - Strong medium-term frameworks for monetary, fiscal and financial policies, and reforms to boost trade, competitiveness and productivity, are necessary.\n - Monitor elevated public debt: expected 2021 debt levels \"to go up significantly – to around 125 percent of GDP in advanced economies, 65 percent of GDP in emerging markets; and 50 percent of GDP in low-income countries.\"\n - Debt policy actions:\n - IMF providing debt relief to its poorest members.\n - With the World Bank, support extension by the G20 of the Debt Service Suspension Initiative.\n - Where debt is unsustainable, it \"should be restructured without delay.\"\n - Advocate for \"greater debt transparency and enhanced creditor coordination.\"\n - Encouraged by G20 discussions on a \"Common framework for Sovereign Debt Resolution\" and calls for improving the architecture for sovereign debt resolution, including private sector participation.\n- Imperative 2 — Policies must be for people:\n - Invest more in people: \"protecting the vulnerable\" and boosting human and physical capital.\n - COVID19 underscores importance of strong health systems.\n - Rising inequality and rapid technological change require strong education and training systems to \"increase opportunity and reduce disparities.\"\n - \"Accelerating gender equality can be a global game-changer.\" For the most unequal countries, \"closing the gender gap could increase GDP by an average of 35 percent.\"\n - Investing in young people: access to health, education, and the internet to enable participation in the digital economy.\n - Digital inclusion example: \"Expanding internet access in Sub Saharan Africa by 10 percent of the population could increase real per capita GDP growth by as much as 4 percentage points.\"\n - Digitalization aids financial inclusion as a tool to alleviate poverty.\n- Imperative 3 — Address climate change:\n - Climate change is \"macro-critical, people-critical and planet-critical\" and poses \"profound threats to growth and prosperity.\"\n - In the last decade, direct damage from climate-related disasters \"adds up to around $1.3 trillion.\"\n - With the right mix of green investment and higher carbon prices, it is possible to \"steer toward zero emissions by 2050\" and \"help create millions of new jobs.\"\n - Low interest rates make the case for investments today that can yield a \"quadruple dividend tomorrow\": avert future losses, spur economic gains, save lives and deliver social and environmental benefits." }, { "heading": "The IMF’s Role", "content": "- IMF actions since the pandemic began:\n - \"Committed over $100 billion.\"\n - IMF has \"substantial resources from our $1 trillion in lending capacity.\"\n- Continued focus: urgent needs of emerging markets and low-income countries, especially small and fragile states — helping them \"to pay doctors and nurses and protect the most vulnerable people and parts of their economies.\"\n- Financial firepower preserved by members' support:\n - \"Doubling of the New Arrangements to Borrow and a new round of bilateral borrowing arrangements\" preserves financial firepower.\n - Members contributed to the Catastrophe Containment – and Relief and Poverty Reduction and Growth—Trusts.\n- Support outcomes and adjustments:\n - Supported low-income members with debt relief and \"to triple our concessional lending.\"\n - IMF is engaging with members to \"further boost our concessional lending capacity,\" \"adapt our lending toolkit\" and \"increase support for capacity development.\"\n- Acknowledgements:\n - IMF staff working \"day and night\" and Management team praised.\n - Deep appreciation to Executive Directors for engagement \"every step of the way over the past six months.\"" }, { "heading": "Conclusion: Seize the Moment", "content": "- Goal: build \"a more sustainable and equitable world\" as the best memorial to those who lost their lives in this crisis.\n- Call to action: \"Our founders did it. It is now our turn. This is our moment!\"\n\nSource: A New Bretton Woods Moment — Speech by Kristalina Georgieva, IMF Managing Director, October 15, 2020.\n\n---\n\n\n References\n\n- https://www.imf.org/en/about/senior-officials/bios/kristalina-georgieva\n- 2020 Annual Meetings\n- Principality of Andorra and the IMF\n- Speeches\n- PRESS CENTER\n- https://www.imf.org/en/home\n\nSource: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2020/10/15/sp101520-a-new-bretton-woods-moment" } ], "bullets": [ "[Markdown version](/en/news/articles/2020/10/15/sp101520-a-new-bretton-woods-moment/index.md)", "[Structured JSON version](/en/news/articles/2020/10/15/sp101520-a-new-bretton-woods-moment/index.json)", "[Bundle manifest](/en/news/articles/2020/10/15/sp101520-a-new-bretton-woods-moment/bundle-manifest.json)", "Authors: Kristalina Georgieva", "Published: October 15, 2020", "Pandemic has already cost \"more than a million lives.\"", "The world economy will be \"4.4 % smaller this year\" and the crisis will \"strip an estimated $11 trillion of output by next year.\"", "The crisis has produced \"untold human desperation\" and rising poverty \"for the first time in decades.\"", "Immediate priority: \"beat the pandemic\" — health measures, production and distribution of effective therapies and vaccines, and ensuring that \"all countries have access.\"", "Continue support for workers and businesses \"until a durable exit from the health crisis.\"", "The global response so far:", "Warning: many countries remain hurt, especially emerging market and developing economies; there is \"a weak tail of banks in many in emerging markets.\"", "Characterization of recovery: a \"Long Ascent\" — \"difficult, uneven, uncertain—and prone to setbacks\" but \"a climb up.\"", "Opportunity: address persistent problems—low productivity, slow growth, high inequalities, and climate crisis—and \"build forward\" to a world \"more resilient, sustainable, and inclusive.\"", "Imperative 1 — The right economic policies:", "Imperative 2 — Policies must be for people:", "Imperative 3 — Address climate change:", "IMF actions since the pandemic began:", "Continued focus: urgent needs of emerging markets and low-income countries, especially small and fragile states — helping them \"to pay doctors and nurses and protect the most vulnerable people and parts of their economies.\"", "Financial firepower preserved by members' support:", "Support outcomes and adjustments:", "Acknowledgements:", "Goal: build \"a more sustainable and equitable world\" as the best memorial to those who lost their lives in this crisis.", "Call to action: \"Our founders did it. It is now our turn. This is our moment!\"", "[https://www.imf.org/en/about/senior-officials/bios/kristalina-georgieva](https://www.imf.org/en/about/senior-officials/bios/kristalina-georgieva)", "[2020 Annual Meetings](https://meetings.imf.org/en/2020/Annual)", "[Principality of Andorra and the IMF](https://www.imf.org/en/countries/and)", "[Speeches](https://www.imf.org/en/news/searchnews)", "[PRESS CENTER](http://presscenter.imf.org/)", "[https://www.imf.org/en/home](https://www.imf.org/en/home)" ], "alternates": { "markdown": "/en/news/articles/2020/10/15/sp101520-a-new-bretton-woods-moment/index.md", "json": "/en/news/articles/2020/10/15/sp101520-a-new-bretton-woods-moment/index.json", "bundleManifest": "/en/news/articles/2020/10/15/sp101520-a-new-bretton-woods-moment/bundle-manifest.json" }, "generatedAtUtc": "2026-09-25T23:53:39.129Z" }