IMF Publications

New Directions for Monetary Policy

Finance and Development, March 2023

A rapidly changing economic backdrop leaves less maneuvering room for policy, while structural forces—geopolitical fragmentation, climate change, an aging workforce, and the advent of digital money—have greatly complicated the underlying policy challenge. In this issue, distinguished contributors offer insights on how central bankers can navigate an increasingly complex world.

Elements of Effective Policies for Crypto Assets

The paper presents a policy framework for crypto assets that aims to achieve key policy objectives such as macroeconomic stability, financial stability, consumer protection, and market and financial integrity. The framework outlines key elements that are necessary to ensure that these objectives are met.

Public Perceptions of Climate Mitigation Policies: Evidence from Cross-Country Surveys

Staff Discussion Note

Building public support for climate mitigation is a key prerequisite to making meaningful strides toward implementing climate mitigation policies and achieving decarbonization. Using nationally representative individual-level surveys for 28 countries, this note sheds light on the individual characteristics and beliefs associated with climate risk perceptions and preferences for climate policies.

Inflation Peaking amid Low Growth

World Economic Outlook Update, January 2023

The January 2023 World Economic Outlook Update projects that global growth will fall to 2.9 percent in 2023 but rise to 3.1 percent in 2024. The 2023 forecast is 0.2 percentage point higher than predicted in the October 2022 World Economic Outlook but below the historical average. Rising interest rates and the war in Ukraine continue to weigh on economic activity. China’s recent reopening has paved the way for a faster-than-expected recovery. Global inflation is expected to fall to 6.6 percent in 2023 and 4.3 percent in 2024, still above pre-pandemic levels.

Geoeconomic Fragmentation and the Future of Multilateralism

After several decades of increasing global economic integration, the world is facing the risk of policy-driven geoeconomic fragmentation (GEF). This note explores the ramifications. It identifies multiple channels through which the benefits of globalization were earlier transmitted, and along which, conversely, the costs of GEF are likely to fall, including trade, migration, capital flows, technology diffusion and the provision of global public goods.

Accelerating Innovation and Digitalization in Asia to Boost Productivity

Asia has risen to become an innovation powerhouse, contributing to more than half of world patents. The rise of Asia as an innovation hub has been driven by a few frontier countries that have experienced a sharp increase in digital and computer-related patents, supported by solid R&D spending and a large share of researchers in the labor force.