Brazil and South Korea: Two Tales Of a Middle-Income Trap

The US dollar has risen dramatically in value against other currencies recently. Three channels through which factors affecting bilateral exchange rates operate have been pulling up the U.S. dollar: yield differentials, liquidity differentials, and growth differentials. The strong appreciation of the US dollar against other currencies recently reinforced the contractionary pressures present in the global economy. Ultimately, the “turn” or “pivot” of the dollar will most likely occur ...

This piece examines the role of labor and religious movements in the face of the “informalization” of the African economy. How does the growth of an informal sector set back class formation and labor activism? How will the rise of economic networks outside formal economic and political channels affect state capacity? Can labor unions develop organizational independence if the labor market is segmented with a growing number of informal workers? What happens when labor market “insider ...

If the recent peaceful transfer of power in Madagascar heralds a new trend, then the Malagasy people can dream big. For decades, the exercise of economic-cum-political power in the hands of a tiny elite has held the entire nation hostage. Today, the high poverty rate—around 80% (2021) stands in stark contrast to the natural resource abundance of this huge enormous island. There is hope, however, that with political stability, the Plan d’Émergence Madagascar (PEM) President Andry R ...

This chapter was originally published in CEPR's eBook "Scaling Up Sustainable Finance and Investment in the Global South" The world faces a huge shortage of infrastructure investment relative to its needs. With few exceptions, such as China, this shortage is even greater in non-advanced countries. The G20 Infrastructure Investors Dialogue estimated the volume of global infrastructure investment needed by 2040 to be $81 trillion, $53 trillion of which is needed in non- advanced cou ...

This publication was originally published in Project Syndicate    Mobilizing excess savings in advanced economies for much-needed investment in green infrastructure in emerging-market and developing economies will not be easy. But it is possible, if both the public and private sectors do their parts. WASHINGTON, DC – To spur development and fight climate change, emerging-market and developing economies (EMDEs) will need huge amounts of investment in green infrastructure over the ...