This year, 85 per cent of the world’s population lives under austerity measures, while multinational enterprises and the wealthy have benefited from privileged tax structures and regressivity, allowing inequality to widen.
Ecuador
Private Sector
News
World Bank’s financial inclusion agenda blind to growing gendered over-indebtedness
The World Bank’s financial inclusion agenda in time of cost-of-living crisis, austerity and financialisation promotes indebtedness of the poor, especially women.
IFI governance
Analysis
Spring Meetings 2022 Wrap-Up: Progress on key issues side-tracked by Ukraine invasion and BWIs’ own sense of drift
Spring Meetings conclude with frantic calls for stronger multilateralism, but few advances in key issues such as Covid-19 unequal recovery, debt, inequality and climate crises, while Russia participation prevents G20, G24 and Development Committee from releasing a communique.
Finance
News
IMF’s punishing surcharges strain Covid-19 response and recovery efforts
Civil society and economists unite in calls for IMF to abolish unethical and harmful surcharges on member countries that undermine financial stability and Covid-19 recovery.
Finance
Analysis
Learning lessons from the Covid-19 pandemic: The World Bank’s macroeconomic policies and women’s rights
This briefing argues that the Bank’s current framework for analysing the impacts of its macroeconomic policy advice on gender equality are insufficient.
Finance
Analysis
Democratic deficit: The IMF, Ecuador, and central bank independence
IMF's continued push for central bank independence criticised as undemocratic, unequal and for curtailing countries' capacity to respond to the pandemic.
Finance
News
IMF's continued VAT push inconsistent with rhetoric on progressive taxes
As the IMF celebrates the rise of VAT, women and those least able to pay are left behind in worsening inequality crisis.
Conditionality
News
Civil society raises alarm about IMF’s continued backing of austerity amidst pandemic
Egypt, Ukraine, South Africa and Ecuador have recently signed IMF loan programmes that involve severe austerity measures.
Other news
Trade
News
Ecuador ratifies 2008 ban on investor-state dispute settlement mechanism
Ecuador referendum reinforces the country’s decision against a mechanism criticised for being asymmetric, unjust and detrimental to citizens’ rights.
Gender
Background
Cutting to the core: Rethinking the IMF’s way of doing business to tackle gender inequalities
Notes from the Civil Society Policy Forum panel event on 17 October on the IMF’s approach to gender.
Private Sector
News
World Bank arbitration mechanism ICSID rules in favour of El Salvador
ICSID, a World Bank arm for investor-state dispute arbitration, ruled that the $250 million case brought by Pac Rim Cayman against El Salvador in 2009 was without merit.
IFI governance
Background
After SCOTUS: Next steps in sovereign debt restructuring
Notes of a meeting on sovereign debt restructuring after SCOTUS at the World Bank-IMF annual meetings 2014
IFI governance
Background
Comparative analysis of social and environmental safeguards in IFIs
Notes of a meeting on comparative analysis of social and environmental safeguards in IFIs at the World Bank-IMF annual meetings 2014
IFI governance
News
Ecuador turfs out IMF representative
Following its expulsion of the World Bank’s country representative, Ecuador has now thrown the IMF’s resident representative out of the offices of the Central Bank.
Conditionality
News
Ecuador, Philippines repay IMF debt
Newly elected Ecuadorean president Rafael Correa, announced in January that he would make early repayments of his country’s $33 million debt to the IMF.
Finance
News
Ecuador stands ground
Ecuador's new president has claimed he will not back down on oil revenues