A New Frontier for Kenya and Africa

By Christine Lagarde

For yet a third year I have kept my tradition of starting the New Year with a visit to Sub-Saharan Africa—a region that truly offers great promise! As the world economy has remained focused on the crisis of the advanced economies, Africa has quietly forged ahead with strong growth led by a vibrant private sector and surging foreign investment. Over the past decade Sub-Saharan Africa has posted growth averaging 5.6 percent a year.

The countries of East Africa have done especially well. So what better place to begin my travels this year than in Kenya, which has emerged as one of the region’s “frontier economies”—countries whose recent performance is propelling them toward middle-income status.

Asia’s Supply Chain and Global Rebalancing

By Anoop Singh

Much of the debate over global rebalancing has focused on the U.S.-China trade imbalance. But that’s missing the bigger picture.

With the growth of cross-border supply chains—a signature feature of Asia’s trade in recent decades—it would be misleading to focus on bilateral imbalances and exchange rates.

Instead of specializing in producing certain types of final goods, Asian exporters increasingly have specialized in certain stages of production and become vertically integrated with each other. So, as Asia’s economies strive to rebalance their growth models, we need to understand better how the regional supply chain affects the way exchange rates and shifts in global demand work.

Seven Pillars of Prosperity—Diversifying Economic Growth in the Caucasus and Central Asia

By David Owen

(Version in Русский)

Medium-term economic growth prospects in the Caucasus and Central Asia region are strong. But, to secure ongoing prosperity, the eight countries of the region—Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—will need to look beyond traditional sources of growth.

The challenge for policymakers will be to foster new and more diverse growth drivers, outside mining, oil, and gas.

There are seven policy pillars that can help them do that:

Turning up the Volume—Asia’s Voice and Leadership in Global Policymaking

By Naoyuki Shinohara

(Version in 中文,  日本語 and 한국어)

Asia’s voice is getting louder and the IMF—and, indeed, the world—is listening.

I am writing from Daejeon, Korea where the Fund and the government of Korea are hosting together a high-level international conference over the next two days.

The conference, entitled Asia 21: Leading the Way Forward, is an opportune time to reflect on exactly that: Asian leadership. Both the topics to be discussed and participants expected for the event speak volumes of the range and depth of expertise and experience in the region.

With broader recognition of the region’s economic, analytic and policy successes, Asia is now a leading voice in the global dialogue on economic and financial policies.

Asia and the IMF: A Closer Engagement

By Anoop Singh

In just a few days’ time, the Korean government and the IMF will jointly host a high-level international conference in Daejeon, Korea. At the Fund, we are trying continually to enhance our strategic dialogue with Asia, and the conference is an important part of this effort.

Asia’s leadership of the global recovery is undeniable, as I have said in earlier blogs. And the extensive reforms and improved macroeconomic policy frameworks that underpinned the region’s remarkable resilience to the global crisis will see Asia’s successes continue. In just two short decades, we expect it to become the largest economic region in the world.

The Korea conference will be an opportunity to showcase Asia’s economic successes, and also highlight the importance of regional integration and cooperation, which has been growing rapidly in Asia.

Help in the Neighborhood: ‘Just a Phone Call Away’

By Alfred Kammer

Regional technical assistance centers have gradually evolved to play a major role in IMF technical assistance. These centers, which are largely donor financed, have become important vehicles for helping countries carry out economic reforms.

Their objective is to assist countries in designing and implementing their poverty reduction and broader developmental strategies and help countries integrate into the world economy.

For example, they help strengthen public financial management, and so improve governance and transparency, facilitating donors’ use of budget support instruments. They help improve tax and customs administration, providing an environment that is more conducive to investment and growth, increasing the resource envelope for poverty reducing spending and reducing the opportunities for corruption. At the same time, such reforms facilitate trade and enable countries to take better advantage of the forces of globalization.