Global Economic Crises and Conditions

Research Paper 83, November 2017

China’s Debt Problem and Rising Systemic Risks: Impact of the global financial crisis and structural problems

The fast expansion of China’s debt, in particular corporate and local government debt, has attracted international attention and has also become a major concern of China’s policy makers. Even though China can tolerate a higher debt level than many other emerging and developing economies owing to the sheer size and other special features of the Chinese economy, systemic risks for financial stability have been rising since the global financial crisis and the cushions built in the past decades to withstand a higher debt level have also been weakened. (more…)

Statement, November 2017

South Centre Statement for the UNCTAD Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Financing for Development

Below is the statement by the South Centre during the first session of the UNCTAD Intergovernmental Group of Experts on Financing for Development (IGE Ffd) held in Geneva on 8-10 November 2017.

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SC Book Launch, 10 November 2017

Title:               “Another Crisis in the Making?” Book Launch of Dr. Yilmaz Akyuz’s Playing with Fire,

                          Deepened Financial Integration and Changing Vulnerabilities of the Global South

Date:                Friday, 10  November 2017, 13h00-15h00

Venue:             Room XXII, Palais des Nations, the United Nations Office in Geneva

Organizers:   The South Centre

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Research Paper 80, October 2017

The Commodity-Finance Nexus: Twin Boom and Double Whammy

International commodity prices and capital inflows to developing countries are increasingly synchronized, subjecting commodity-dependent economies to double boom-bust cycles.  (more…)

Statement, October 2017

South Centre Statement to the Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 24

Below is the statement by the South Centre’s Executive Director Mr. Martin Khor which was distributed during the Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Twenty-four held in Washington DC on 12 October 2017.

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Policy Brief 43, August 2017

The Financial Crisis and the Global South: Impact and Prospects

The world economy has not still recovered from the effects of the financial crisis that began almost a decade ago first in the US and then in Europe.  Policy response to the crisis, the combination of fiscal restraint and ultra-easy monetary policy, has not only failed to bring about a robust recovery but has also aggravated systemic problems in the global economy, notably inequality and chronic demand gap, on the one hand, and financial fragility, on the other. It has generated strong destabilizing spillovers to the Global South.  (more…)

SouthViews No. 153, 28 July 2017

Asian Financial Crisis: Lessons Learned and Unlearned

By Yılmaz Akyüz

Debates are taking place on whether there will be another financial crisis, whether in some part of the world or that is global in scope. Governments draw lessons from financial crises to adopt measures to prevent their recurrence. However, such measures are often designed to address the root causes of the last crisis but not the next one. More importantly, they can actually become the new sources of instability and crisis. (more…)

Policy Brief 42, July 2017

The Asian Financial Crisis: Lessons Learned and Unlearned

Much of what has recently been written about the Asian crisis on the occasion of its 20th anniversary praises the lessons drawn from the crisis and the measures implemented thereupon.  But they often fail to appreciate that while these might have been effective in preventing the crisis in 1997, they may be inadequate and even counterproductive today because they entail deeper integration into global finance.

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SouthViews No. 152, 24 July 2017

Prepare Now for the Next Financial Crisis

By Martin Khor

The Asian financial crisis started 20 years ago and the global financial crisis and recession 9 years back. When a new global financial crisis strikes, the developing countries will be more damaged than in the last crisis as they have become less resilient and more vulnerable. They thus need to prepare from being overwhelmed. (more…)

SouthViews No. 151, 6 July 2017

The Asian financial crisis – 20 years later

By Martin Khor

It’s been 20 years since the Asian financial crisis struck in July 1997. Since then there has been an even bigger global financial crisis, centred in the United States starting in 2008. Will there be another crisis in the near future? The Asian crisis began when speculators brought down the Thai baht, making fortunes in the process. Within months, the currencies of Indonesia, South Korea and Malaysia were also affected. The crisis was to turn the East Asian Miracle into an Asian Financial Nightmare. (more…)

Research Paper 76, May 2017

The Financial Crisis and the Global South: Impact and Prospects

The world economy has not still recovered from the effects of the financial crisis that began almost a decade ago first in the US and then in Europe.  Policy response to the crisis, the combination of fiscal restraint and ultra-easy monetary policy, has not only failed to bring about a robust recovery but has also aggravated systemic problems in the global economy, notably inequality and chronic demand gap, on the one hand, and financial fragility, on the other. (more…)

Statement, April 2017

South Centre Statement to the Ministerial Meeting of the Group of 24

Below is the Statement by the South Centre’s Executive Director Mr. Martin Khor which was distributed during the Ministerial Meeting of the Group of Twenty-four held in Washington DC on 20 April 2017.

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