Debt levels in many countries were high when the pandemic hit.

Public debt

Averting a COVID-19 Debt Trap

KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA

April 9, 2021

The pandemic has left countries with higher debt and fallen revenues. (iStock by Getty Images/erhui1979)
  • Debt levels in many countries were high when the pandemic hit.
KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA - Averting a COVID-19 Debt Trap
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In This Episode
Debt levels in many countries were high when the pandemic hit. But today, global public debt is reaching 100 percent of GDP. In this podcast, we hear a panel discussion about the very real danger for some countries of falling into a debt trap. The seminar was held during the 2021 IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings and featured IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, Mohamed El-Erian, President of Queens’ College, Cambridge, and Vera Songwe, Under-Secretary-General at the United Nations. The Panel was moderated by Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times.

KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA is the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

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