The Debt Reckoning: Rodrigo Valdés and Era Dabla-Norris

IMF Podcasts

Source details

Canonical URL: The Debt Reckoning: Rodrigo Valdés and Era Dabla-Norris

Other formats

Bibliographic details

Guest: RODRIGO VALDES, ERA DABLA-NORRIS

Overview

Episode title: The Debt Reckoning: Rodrigo Valdés and Era Dabla-Norris.
Publication: F&D Magazine.
Date: March 2, 2026.
Hosts/Guests:
- RODRIGO VALDÉS — director of the IMF's Fiscal Affairs Department.
- ERA DABLA-NORRIS — deputy director in the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department.
- BEHIND THE MIC: Bruce Edwards, International Monetary Fund.
Availability: Libsyn, Spotify, YouTube, Soundcloud, Apple.
Transcript available.

Major findings and analysis

Unprecedented debt levels are pressing governments to make tough choices.
Aging populations increase demands for public spending while fiscal resources are stretched thin.
The era of cheap borrowing that allowed policymakers to defer debt burdens is over.
Erosion of public trust is a material factor in reconciling competing fiscal priorities.

Policy implications and considerations

Governments face trade-offs between meeting increasing spending needs (including those driven by aging populations) and restoring sustainable debt trajectories.
Restoring public trust is an essential complement to technical fiscal adjustments when reconciling competing priorities.
Fiscal policy must adapt to a higher-cost borrowing environment; past strategies that relied on prolonged low interest rates are no longer dependable.

Production and context

The episode is part of IMF podcasts produced by Bruce Edwards, who produces the IMF podcast program and aims to showcase economists' research.
The discussion complements the March edition of Finance & Development magazine, in which Rodrigo Valdés and Era Dabla-Norris write about high debt and hard choices.

Content in this bundle

Debt Audio Mix 1 (MP3)

References