This week, CEPR co-hosted the panel Decoding IMF Accounting, Unlocking the Full Potential of SDRs, held as part of the 2025 IMF–World Bank Spring Meetings Civil Society Policy Forum.

You can watch the full event recording here.

Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) are a vital tool for responding to global crises. The 2021 SDR issuance provided a critical lifeline to developing countries amidst a worldwide poly-crisis. Global civil society and nations across the Global South have made repeated calls for additional SDR issuances ever since. Yet despite their potential, their use remains limited by outdated accounting practices and IMF recommendations that unnecessarily restrict their application for public spending and debt relief.

Andrés Arauz, Maia Colodenco, Jon Sward, and moderator Niranjali Amerasinghe examined how these flawed policies—along with institutional tensions between central banks and national governments—are undermining the effective deployment of SDRs. The panelists clarified SDRs’ status as equity instruments and explored ways to unlock their full potential for development financing.

We would like to thank our co-hosts ActionAid USA, MENAFem, the Bretton Woods Project, and Latindadd.