IMFCEF

CEF-FAD Joint Webinar on How to Achieve Inclusive Growth

The IMF-Middle East Center for Economics and Finance (IMF-CEF) and the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department (FAD) hosted a webinar on June 21, 2022, to discuss Inclusive Growth.

In this webinar, Valerie Cerra, Assistant Director in the IMF’s Fiscal Affairs Department, gave an overview on the book titled “How to Achieve Inclusive Growth,” co-edited with Barry Eichengreen, Asmaa El-Ganainy, and Martin Schindler and recently published by Oxford University Press. Mr. Paulo Drummond, CEF Director, gave opening remarks, and Ms. Chiraz Labidi, Senior Economist at the CEF, moderated the event.

The book analyzes the paramount economic, social, and environmental policy challenges of our time. It lays out a comprehensive and integrated framework for designing policies to address economic disparities for current and future generations across the globe. The book draws on the expertise of top economists from around the world and on the policy experience of experts from leading international institutions, including the IMF. It provides additional resources for policymakers to help them take next steps and tailor solutions to their specific conditions and needs.

Ms. Cerra first set the global context, answering why inclusive growth is important for policy and the impact of Covid-19 on inclusive growth. She underscored that the pandemic has intensified pre-existing gaps in employment and in education, adversely affecting youth and women. She emphasized that economic losses are also shown to be strongly correlated with an increase in inequality.

Ms. Cerra also presented the framework for policy design along which the book is structured and addressed the question of whether there is a tradeoff between growth and inclusion.

In addition, Ms. Cerra presented a few chapters of the book, including the impact of fiscal policy on inclusive growth, macroeconomic stability and inclusive growth, private sector inputs to growth, the link between globalization and inclusive growth, climate change, and other issues.

The floor then opened for discussion with a diverse audience from the region, including participants from the public sector, academia, the business community, and representatives from civil society and international organizations

For more details about the webinar, please watch the recording here.

For the presentation, please follow this link.

For more information about the book “How to Achieve Inclusive Growth,” please follow this link.

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