Publication

Special Drawing Rights: A Primer

Fri, Aug 13, 2021

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Last week the IMF Board of Governors approved a $650 billion allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) - the largest in the history of the IMF to boost global liquidity and help countries recover from Covid-19 crisis.

SDRs are allocated to IMF member countries in proportion to their existing quotas with US$275 billion going to emerging market and developing countries. Advanced economies have the option to re-allocate or "channel" their SDRs to low-income countries. 

To learn more about SDR allocation and channeling read the SDR Primer published by BWC's Legislative Working Group.