Break the taboos propping up unsustainable debt, pleads a former central banker
Murtaza Syed on overcoming fear of restructuring, cajoling creditors and encouraging the IMF to be candid
A YEAR AGO, in an article for The Economist, I cautioned that Pakistan’s policymakers and the IMF were flirting with disaster by pretending that the country’s public debt was sustainable. It was among 70 countries facing debt distress. A year on, only Ethiopia has defaulted and Sri Lanka is restructuring its debt, while Pakistan is on the cusp of a record 24th IMF programme. But this veneer of stability is no cause for celebration.
From the August 31st 2024 edition
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Lebanon needs a new army in the south, says Yair Lapid
Israel’s opposition leader sees a way to turn war into a much-needed reset for the country
Philippe Lazzarini says the blows to humanitarian law in Gaza harm us all
The head of UNRWA, the UN’s agency for Palestinians, warns the world not to look away
Ernesto Zedillo says AMLO has left Mexico on the verge of authoritarianism
The former president exhorts Claudia Sheinbaum to opt for democracy
COP29 is greenwashing a dictatorship, writes Azerbaijan’s main opposition leader
Ali Karimli on the hypocrisy of holding the climate conference in a petrostate where dissent is silenced
Ara Darzi on why antibiotic resistance could be deadlier than cancer
To get on top of the crisis, stop prescriptions without a proper diagnosis, argues the surgeon and politician
Bill Gates on how feeding children properly can transform global health
The stomach influences every aspect of human health, says the philanthropist