Strengthening Institutions to Promote an Inclusive and Smart Recovery

IMF News, November 10, 2020

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Since the start of the pandemic, the IMF has moved at an unprecedented speed to approve over $100 billion in financing.
Financing helped 81 countries ramp up emergency spending.
Over 90 percent of countries that benefitted from emergency financing in recent months have received capacity development support through hands-on technical assistance, practical tools, and training.
The IMF provides, in addition to financial support, real-time policy advice and capacity development support.

As countries move to recovery, focus will shift to policies necessary to boost growth while maintaining macroeconomic stability.
The crisis offers an opportunity to "build forward better" by tackling cross-cutting challenges such as inequality and climate change, while leveraging digitalization.
Investing in the future is necessary despite rising fiscal pressures:
- Invest in people by strengthening health systems and social protection systems.
- Boost human capital and economic opportunity through education and training, especially in light of advances in technology and implications for the future of employment.
- Invest in digital transformation to unlock greater economic potential.
- With the right mix of green investment and higher carbon prices, steer toward zero emissions by 2050 and help create millions of new jobs.

The crisis has placed great demand on fiscal resources; many countries confront rapidly rising debt levels and declining fiscal space.
Generating stronger, more resilient and inclusive growth requires investing despite constrained fiscal space.
IMF assistance includes helping countries tackle debt problems and rebuild fiscal space by:
- Modernizing tax systems and administrations.
- Increasing spending efficiency.
- Addressing equity concerns, for example through advice on taxation and gender responsive budgeting.

Recent analysis shows that many countries covered by the JVI have large infrastructure needs, and that addressing them could have a significant growth impact.
Meeting infrastructure needs entails more efficient investment—an area where IMF technical advice and JVI training can empower officials in charge of reforms.
The IMF and the JVI are developing an integrated approach to inclusive growth that draws on best practices across themes such as jobs, gender, inequality, trade, governance and climate change.
Planned support includes training to policymakers and the public, including through a new online course and a guidebook of policy recommendations.
The IMF looks forward to continuing partnership with the JVI and the Austrian authorities to build capacity in the countries of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe, the Caucasus, and Central Asia.

Strong economic institutions and technical know-how are central to designing and implementing policies for a smart, green, and inclusive recovery.
At the current juncture, there is a "once-in-a-century opportunity" to build forward better; it is described as an imperative and a prerequisite to making economies smarter, greener and more inclusive.

Speech by Antoinette M. Sayeh, Deputy Managing Director, IMF — Joint Vienna Institute Virtual Annual Lecture, November 10, 2020.