The pandemic and its economic fallout have sharply increased debt vulnerabilities in low and middle-income economies. At the same time they continue to need large flows of external development finance, not least to address the long-term costs of the pandemic itself and support the transition to a low carbon economy.
This webinar, organized in association with The Currency Exchange Fund (TCX), is split into two sessions with a short break inbetween.
Opening remarks from Creon Butler and Ruurd Brouwer.
14.00-15.10 BST: Andrea F. Presbitero and Juan Pradelli present their new research. Andrea has collected evidence that higher quality debt management capabilities in low-income countries is rewarded by higher net capital inflows, reduced volatility and strengthened domestic capital formation. Juan will present findings on the risk management capacities in representative national Debt Management Offices and the need for capacity building.
These presentations are complemented by the perspectives of experienced debt management practitioners – such as Joy Gessa, Odilbek Isakov, Patricio Merlani, and Polina Yarova – from frontier/emerging economies facing the challenge of post-pandemic debt fragility, including the contribution of foreign exchange exposure.
15.15-16.15 BST: Expert panel moderated by Sony Kapoor looking at the policy implications and recommendations resulting from the evidence presented in the first part.
Confirmed panellists: Erica Gerretsen, Yougesh Khatri, Lupin Rahman, Miguel Savastano, and Haje Schütte.
The panel will be followed by a moderated discussion and Q&A with the audience.
Participants
Ruurd Brouwer, Chief Executive, TCX
Creon Butler, Director, Global Economy and Finance Programme, Chatham House
Erica Gerretsen, Acting Director, Sustainable Finance, Investment and Jobs, DG International Partnerships, European Commission
Joy Gessa, Principal Economist, Debt Policy and Issuance Department, Directorate of Debt and Cash Policy, Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development, Uganda
Harald Hirschhofer, Senior Adviser, TCX
Odilbek Isakov, Deputy Minister of Finance, Republic of Uzbekistan
Sony Kapoor, Managing Director, RE-DEFINE and Young Global Leader, WEF
Yougesh Khatri, Associate Fellow, Global Economy and Finance Programme, Chatham House
Patricio Merlani, Senior Expert on Macro-Fiscal Policy and Debt Management; Former Undersecretary of Finance, Argentina
Juan Pradelli, Senior Expert on fiscal policy and debt management; Associate Researcher, Center for the Study of State and Society, Argentina
Andrea F. Presbitero, SAIS, Johns Hopkins University
Lupin Rahman, Head of EM Sovereign Credit, PIMCO
Miguel Savastano, Deputy Director, Monetary and Capital Markets Department, IMF
Haje Schütte, Senior Counsellor and Head of Financing for Sustainable Development Division, OECD
Polina Yarova, Director of the Debt Policy Department, Ministry of Finance, Ukraine
