Can the IMF solve the poor world’s debt crisis?
The fund will freeze out China if that is what it takes to offer relief
![Illustration of a globe being squeezed by a clamp](https://www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240420_FND000.jpg)
It is now four years since the first poor countries were plunged into default because of spiralling costs from covid-19 spending and investors pulling capital from risky markets. It is two years since higher interest rates in the rich world began to put even more pressure on cash-strapped governments. But at the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank, held in Washington, DC, this week, many of the world’s policymakers were acting as if the worst debt crisis since the 1980s, by portion of world population affected, had come to an end. After all, the poorest countries in the world grew at a respectable 4% last year. Some, such as Kenya, are even borrowing from international markets again.
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This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Time for some hardball”
Finance & economics April 20th 2024
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