## IMF’s Kristalina Georgieva: Beyond the COVID-19 Crisis ## Source details **Canonical URL:** [IMF’s Kristalina Georgieva: Beyond the COVID-19 Crisis](https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2020/06/turning-crisis-into-opportunity-kristalina-georgieva) ## Other formats - [Markdown version](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2020/06/turning-crisis-into-opportunity-kristalina-georgieva/index.md) - [Structured JSON version](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2020/06/turning-crisis-into-opportunity-kristalina-georgieva/index.json) - [Bundle manifest](/en/publications/fandd/issues/2020/06/turning-crisis-into-opportunity-kristalina-georgieva/bundle-manifest.json) ## Bibliographic details - Authors: KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA - Published: June 1, 2020 --- ### Overview - The world was put into stasis to protect public health: shops closed, factories were mothballed, and people’s freedom of movement was severely curtailed. - No country has escaped the health, economic, and social impacts of the COVID-19 crisis. - Tragically, more than 375,000 people have died and millions have been infected. - The IMF is projecting global economic activity to decline on a scale not seen since the Great Depression. - The article expresses hope that the crisis can be an opportunity to build a better world. ### IMF response and financial support - Governments have combined dramatic public health interventions with fiscal measures amounting to about $8.7 trillion. - Central banks have undertaken massive liquidity injections; richer countries have stepped up to support poorer nations. - The IMF doubled its emergency rapid-disbursing capacity to meet expected demand of about $100 billion. - By end-May the IMF had approved financing for 60 countries, a record. - The IMF established a new short-term liquidity line. - The IMF took steps to triple its concessional funding, targeting $17 billion in new loan resources for the Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust. - The Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust was reformed to provide rapid debt-service relief on IMF obligations. - Working with the World Bank, the IMF catalyzed suspension of official bilateral debt repayments for the poorest countries through the end of 2020. ### Governance, accountability, and vulnerabilities - The IMF emphasized collective commitment and steadfast support while addressing governance vulnerabilities. - Corruption is highlighted as draining resources away from priorities like public health, social protection, distance learning, and other essential services. - Distorted spending priorities will undermine recovery and long-term efforts to promote sustainable, inclusive growth or raise productivity and living standards. - Policy guidance: “do whatever you can, but make sure you keep the receipts.” This entails adopting a range of public financial management, anti-corruption, and anti-money-laundering measures. ### Recovery characteristics and challenges - The recovery will be unusual due to uncertainty about the path of the virus, potential vaccines, and therapeutics. - Uncertainty could hamper the rebound of investment and consumption, especially if infection rates climb back up as containment measures are eased. - Countries with stronger macroeconomic fundamentals, social cohesion, and safety nets are likely to experience faster and stronger recoveries. - Existing vulnerabilities that will hinder the recovery include: - high sovereign debt - weak corporate, household, and bank balance sheets - limited policy credibility - Governments will face the challenge of phasing out crisis-related policies. - Global cooperation will be vital to coordinate actions, share data, protect supply chains, and support more vulnerable countries. ### A green recovery — reshape economies to be greener, smarter, and fairer - Greener - The pandemic underscores vulnerability to nature and parallels warnings about catastrophic climate change. - Opportunity to invest in reducing emissions and adapting to new environmental conditions. - Reorient economies to prioritize sustainability and resilience alongside efficiency and profitability. - Policies should allocate resources to public goods: clean air, flood defenses, resilient infrastructure, and renewable energy. - Lower commodity prices can create fiscal space to phase out regressive fuel subsidies that increase carbon emissions. - Investment need stated: in the energy sector, a low-carbon transition could require $2.3 trillion in investment every year for a decade, bringing growth and jobs during the recovery phase. - Smarter - Remote work and technology use have reduced travel, resource consumption, and introduced more agile business processes. - Importance of investing in robust digital infrastructure and policy frameworks. - The IMF and the World Bank Group launched the Bali Fintech Agenda in 2018 to help countries harness fintech while managing risks. - Accelerate work with members to broaden digital transformation so benefits are shared more widely. - Well-managed fintech can help end financial exclusion for the 1.7 billion people in developing economies who have no access to banking. - Fairer - IMF research shows lower income inequality is associated with stronger and more sustainable growth. - Social disparities have become more pronounced during the Great Lockdown. - Informal workers in unregulated sectors or outside the tax system are twice as likely to belong to poor households. - These workers typically have no access to sick leave or unemployment benefits; access to health benefits is often precarious. - Opportunity to build fairer societies by investing in people: spend more and spend better on schools, training, and reskilling; expand well-targeted social programs; empower women by reducing labor market discrimination. - Such investment will need to be funded by more equitable taxation, especially given enhanced public debt levels stemming from the crisis. ### Solidarity, IMF role, and next steps - Examples of solidarity: IMF staff enabling billions of dollars to support vulnerable people, cooking meals for the vulnerable, and caring for sick neighbors. - The IMF has shown its mettle as an economic first responder during the crisis. - Commitment: support members through policy advice, financing, and capacity development as the world enters the next phase. - The collective aim is to take the chance to build a better world. *IMF’s Kristalina Georgieva: Beyond the COVID-19 Crisis - IMF F&D* --- ## Content in this bundle - **كلام صريح** - [كلام صريح (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/june/ar/straight.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [كلام صريح (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/june/ar/straight.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **Después de la crisis ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Junio de 2020** - [Después de la crisis ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Junio de 2020 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/june/es/la-crisis-como-una-oportunidad-kristalina-georgieva.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [Después de la crisis ● Finanzas y Desarrollo ● Junio de 2020 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/june/es/la-crisis-como-una-oportunidad-kristalina-georgieva.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **Beyond the Crisis** - [Beyond the Crisis (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/june/turning-crisis-into-opportunity-kristalina-georgieva.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [Beyond the Crisis (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/june/turning-crisis-into-opportunity-kristalina-georgieva.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} - **危机之后 - 《金融与发展》 2020年6月号 - 国际货币基金组织季刊** - [危机之后 - 《金融与发展》 2020年6月号 - 国际货币基金组织季刊 (Markdown version)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/june/zh/straight.pdf.md){rel="alternate" type="text/markdown"} - [危机之后 - 《金融与发展》 2020年6月号 - 国际货币基金组织季刊 (PDF)](/-/media/files/publications/fandd/article/2020/june/zh/straight.pdf){rel="external" type="application/pdf"} --- _Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/fandd/issues/2020/06/turning-crisis-into-opportunity-kristalina-georgieva_