The IMF’s April 2025 Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa presents a clear warning: regional growth is slowing, debt pressures are mounting, and donor assistance is declining. Yet the report outlines critical opportunities particularly in domestic revenue mobilization, structural reform, and private sector activation that can shape a more resilient …
Presentation of details of 5th Tranche announced by Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman under Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan to support Indian economy in fight against COVID-19. Rs 40,000 crores increase in allocation for MGNREGS to provide employment boost. Public Expenditure on Health will be increased. Investments in …
To support the African ChemObs project (the Integrated Health and Environment Observatories and Legal and Institutional Strengthening for the Sound Management of Chemicals in Africa), we provide a critical review of methodologies for valuing the health damages from policy inaction associated with chemical exposures. In particular, we discuss how disability-adjusted …
Careful implementation of carbon pricing with reductions in fossil fuel subsidies can raise revenues to support the COVID-19 recovery and make society less vulnerable to future climate, ecological or public health risks, according to a new policy brief published today (May 15th) by the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change …
The African Union Commission through the Department of Social Affairs (DSA) and the Directorate of the Citizen and Diaspora Organizations (CIDO) launched the African approach of the Regional Consultation on the Global Forum on Migration and Development (GFMD) alongside the United Arab Emirates; the chair of the GFMD for 2020. …
The Covid-19 crisis has exposed the deep and systemic deficiencies of the global economic regulatory system and associated national vulnerabilities at a time of great distress. Until this crisis struck, who could have thought it possible that Germany would ban the exportation, to France or Italy, of such potentially life-saving …
Against the backdrop of a raging and devastating pandemic, the world economy is projected to shrink by 3.2 per cent in 2020. Under the baseline scenario, GDP growth in developed countries will plunge to –5.0 per cent in 2020, while output of developing countries will shrink by 0.7 per cent. …
The massive expansion of state intervention in response to the Covid-19 pandemic – in particular, to underwrite wages for workers and loans for small and medium-sized businesses – may at first sight seem to be progressive. However, whether this is really the case depends on how these interventions ultimately affect …
The world is facing a period of great tribulation as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, and international trade is an obvious target, whether as a result of decreased global demand for goods (and also the likely effects on the price of trade goods, especially commodities) or as a result …
Social dialogue has been long employed as a tool in the governance of work, with the objective of delivering sustainable economic growth, social justice and the kind of high-trust work relations that are not only valuable in themselves, but that can also improve business performance and increase workers’ share in …
The Rural Livelihoods and Economic Empowerment Programme (RLEEP) has laid a good foundation for pro-poor value chain development. Small-scale farmers have increased their awareness that farming is a business. A number of useful partnerships were built and promising initiatives started. This includes the Farm Radio Trust, which was highly effective …
In 2019 and the early months of 2020, global trade faced two major albeit very different shocks, namely the United States-China trade war and the cascading response of the countries around the world to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the former situation involved a pair of centrally-placed trading partners introducing tariffs …
In the current context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, policymakers are confronted with decisions that may prove to be among the most difficult of their careers. To contain the COVID-19 pandemic, unprecedented measures are being taken globally. In Africa, at least 42 countries have imposed partial or full …
As the human and economic costs of the COVID-19 pandemic have unfolded, the global financial system has been both a source of strength—with banks and fintechs helping distribute support to small businesses and households in need—and an area of potential risk, with record levels of market volatility and growing concern …
While the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in East Africa so far is relatively low compared to other regions, disruption in supply chains is already affecting the trade and flow of commodities. Despite the comfortable stock of cereals in the global market, most countries in East Africa are food deficit …
The collapse of tourism resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic will have a profound impact on the Asia-Pacific small island developing States because of their high reliance on tourism rents. The pandemic will disproportionally influence the lives and well-being of the poorest and the most vulnerable, including workers in the informal …
Forty million people dead if unmitigated. Half a billion people pushed into poverty. Coronavirus could have a disastrous toll worldwide unless immediate and dramatic action is taken. No one is immune to the impacts of the outbreak, but the crisis will undeniably hit people living in poverty the hardest, further …
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are key to the economies of various countries. Their numbers and contribution towards employment is well documented and there is acceptance amongst policy makers that these enterprises are critical for economic development. Increasingly, access to finance has been recognised as a major hurdle in …
The COVID-19 crisis is a dual crisis - public health crisis and a macroeconomic crisis. The policy responses to this crisis have been a ‘life versus livelihood’ sequencing and the findings are such that global cooperation, and domestic macroeconomic policies complementing with exit strategy to solve the economic disruptions in …
Investment policies make an important contribution in tackling the devastating economic and social effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Numerous countries around the globe have taken measures in support of investment or for protecting critical domestic industries in the crisis. Support measures include, in particular, the speeding up of investment …
The digital economy and e-commerce are developing fast in Africa. The forthcoming implementation of the African free trade area (AfCFTA) will encourage intra-African trade. These two forces combined, offer a new inclusive future for Africa. E-commerce is growing throughout Africa, but is mainly nationally focused at present. The AfCFTA will …
