José Antonio Ocampo | Brookings Institution | March 8, 2021
Before the COVID-19 crisis, several low-income countries and some emerging economies were already facing sovereign debt problems, but this issue has become increasingly severe with the current crisis, limiting the capacity of these nations to manage the economic and social effects of the pandemic.
This issue was placed by the managing director of the International Monetary Fund at the center of her views during the meeting of the Bretton Woods Institutions in October, and was followed by a call for action by a group of former finance ministers and central bank governors from emerging and developing countries. (I am part of that group.)
As in many monetary and financial areas, multilateral cooperation on sovereign debts was very limited in 2020. There were very partial measures in favor of low-income countries but none for middle-income nations.
Originally published by Brookings Institution. Read more here.