Event Recap
Debt, Climate and International Financial Institutions (IFIs) from a Global South Perspective
A panel discussion on Capitol Hill explored the challenges facing the Global South and the impact of debt and climate change on these nations.
Sovereign Debt
Article
Surcharge Reform: Three Scenarios for the IMF Board
Discover the scenarios for surcharge reform proposed by the IMF Board. Learn why CEPR advocates for the elimination of these punitive fees.
Article
Kenya Protests: A Wake-Up Call to a Failing International Financial Architecture
Protests in Kenya highlight the impact of IMF-backed reforms and the failing international financial architecture.
Report
The Case for the Complete Removal of IMF Surcharges: Historical Precedents and a Growing Burden
Explore the research on IMF surcharges and their effects on payment systems, banking, and public economics.
Report
The Rising Cost of Debt: An Obstacle to Achieving Climate and Development Goals
Explore the relationship between climate change and debt in developing countries. Understand how rising debt costs are adding to their vulnerabilities.
Report
A Broader Impact Than Ever Before: An Updated Estimate of the IMF’s Surcharges
This paper presents an estimate of IMF surcharges updated as of February 2024. It shows that 22 countries are now subject to surcharges, a net increase of 6 since our 2023 estimate.
Article
The IMF’s Effective Lending Rate for Large Borrowers Is Now at Over 8 Percent
The IMF is considered a “super-senior” creditor for developing countries, but it is now charging over 8 percent for disbursements to its most indebted borrowers, due in part to surcharges.
Article
What’s at Stake at the WTO’s 13th Ministerial Conference in Abu Dhabi?
At stake is a fight between two visions of what role the WTO, as the world’s most powerful rule-making body in the global economy, should play.
Article
International Monetary Fund Lifts Veil on Surcharges
The IMF’s own data supports widespread concerns that the surcharge policy presents a tremendous burden on heavily indebted countries, which is only growing.
Article
No More Excuse for Surcharges: the Target for Precautionary Balances Has Been Reached
New calculations negate one of the main rationales the IMF has put forward to justify its unfair, unnecessary, and counterproductive surcharge policy.
