Member Views

A rare, nonpartisan good news story in Washington

One of the government’s most important obligations is to protect our national security. Getting the details right for how to do so often leads to debate and disagreement, as it should. Unfortunately, such discussions can devolve into partisan acrimony.

A Stronger IMF Will Bolster the US Recovery

All indications are that global economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic will be a daunting challenge. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is already stepping up to help emerging markets and developing countries by approving several emergency loans.

A U.S. Call for Modest IMF Gold Sales to Help Africa

"Modest IMF gold sales to help Sub-Saharan African nations and low-income countries could strongly bolster the IMF’s global role and benefit not only these countries, but also U.S. national interests," writes BWC member Mark Sobel. 

"On the heels of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, the United States should lead an international effort to sell modest amounts of IMF gold for LICs."

Act now to prevent a new sovereign debt crisis in the developing world

Since late February, the world’s attention has been focused on Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. However, some of the most damaging economic and financial impacts of this act of aggression will be felt by non oil-exporting developing economies in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Addressing Global Agreements in Digital Trade

The failure of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and indefinite suspension of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) marked the death knell of large complex multilateral trade and investment agreements.

Africa Sovereign Debt Spiral Foments Frustration

This past year, a decade-long Africa commercial borrowing binge with $30bn worth of bonds outstanding came to a screeching halt amid outright or near defaults, with distressed spreads as a measure of risk of over 1,000 basis points to US Treasuries for the sovereign benchmark index cross-section.

Debt topped the agenda at the US-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington, DC in December.

Africa Stock Markets Test Run Revival Formula

Most frontier African stock markets lagged in 2022, but a revival is likely on renewed privatization policies, cross-border integration, currency rationalization, and bank rotation from forced bond allocation into equities, writes BWC member Gary Kleiman.

All Crises Open Up Opportunities to Think Afresh

The Bank of England’s chief economist calls on policymakers to jolt companies towards fairer, more productive ways of working.

America Is Back: We Need a Trade Agenda That Shows It

America is back on the world stage. That’s the theme President Biden repeatedly hit during his first international trip this month, and throughout his first several months in office.

America Needs a Positive IMF Agenda

How will a new allocation of special drawing rights affect the global economy?