Academic and activist Walden Bello, from the Philippines, is a leading critic of the current model of economic globalisation - who once risked 25 years in prison to expose the extent of how World Bank projects helped support the dictatorship of Ferninand Marcos of the Philippines. He outlines how an alternative to the Bretton Woods institutions is emerging with the expansion of BRICS nations - and other global south-led institutions which are working together to expand opportunities for  their economies and to pursue a greener and fairer development model.

From the International Development Economics Associates - a network of progressive economists who centre the perspectives and needs of the Global South.

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New episodes available on Wednesdays.

We hear from Yuefen Li,  the senior advisor on South South cooperation and development finance in the Geneva-based South Centre. She analyses the initiatives proposed by Brazil during its G20 presidency - the global wealth tax on the ultra-rich and the global alliance against hunger - and looks ahead to South Africa’s presidency in 2025. And she explores the most pressing challenges facing the Global South: from interest rate hikes; to urgent reforms needed in a global financial architecture that has stayed the same despite a massive shift in the world’s geopolitics. 

From the International Development Economics Associates - a network of progressive economists who centre the perspectives and needs of the Global South.

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New episodes available on Wednesdays.

Development economists Jayati Ghosh and Charles Abugre are back to explore the role of the global multilateral organisations in exacerbating the debt crisis. They take a forensic look at policies and mechanisms, including the flawed G20-led Common Framework and the IMF debt sustainability analysis. And they offer up pragmatic solutions that will help break the endless cycle of debt.

And we hear from a chicken farmer about running her small business in the economic turmoil of debt-distressed Zambia.

From the International Development Economics Associates - a network of progressive economists who centre the perspectives and needs of the Global South.

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New episodes available on Wednesdays.

Over the past few years Sri Lanka has experienced its worst ever economic crisis - fuel shortages, daily power cuts, no medicines, schools having to close, inflation running at 50 per cent, mass protests. In May 2022 for the first time in its history Sri Lanka failed to make an interest payment on its external debt. It’s now under an IMF austerity programme. Ahilan Kadirgamar, a sociology lecturer from Sri Lanka, provides the wider historical context and consequences. And Prathibha Fernando, a woman who lives just outside of the capital Colombo, shares her moving story about the personal costs of such economic hardships - including on her child’s education. 

From the International Development Economics Associates - a network of progressive economists who centre the perspectives and needs of the Global South.

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Jan Kregel, a former high level UN official and highly regarded economist specialising in development finance, and former finance minister of Colombia, José Antonio Ocampo, share their perspectives on this debt crisis compared to historic ones; they discuss the relationship between creditors and debtors, and highlight how climate change needs us to rethink debt resolution mechanisms altogether.

From the International Development Economics Associates - a network of progressive economists who centre the perspectives and needs of the Global South.

Sign up to the IDEAs newsletter here and find the presentations for the IDEAs African Debt Crisis and Financial Architecture held in Ghana here 

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Almost half the global population is affected by the current global debt crisis. Some Global South countries are now spending more on debt servicing than health, education and social protection combined. Development economists Jayati Ghosh and Charles Abugre explore its root causes and consequences. And a Kenyan barber tells us how tax increases there are affecting his business and family life - and why he took to the streets in protest.

From the International Development Economics Associates - a network of progressive economists who centre the perspectives and needs of the Global South.

Sign up to the IDEAs newsletter here and find more resources on the debt crisis 

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We rethink economics from the perspective of the Global South. 

Leading economists such as Jayati Ghosh, Jan Kregel, José Antonio Ocampo, Charles Abugre and Yuefen Li shed light on the causes and solutions of the current international debt crisis. They explore the reforms needed to ensure the global financial architecture is fit for purpose and ask whether there’s an alternative to the Bretton Woods institutions that have shaped the world’s economy since the end of the Second World War. Plus we hear from ordinary people about life in countries trapped in an endless cycle of debt distress.

Hosted by Kenyan business journalist Julians Amboko, over six weeks, with new episodes available on Wednesdays.

From the International Development Economics Associates (IDEAs) - a network of progressive economists who centre the perspectives and needs of the Global South.

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Podcast concept by Charles Abugre, C.P. Chandrasekhar and atieno Ndomo. 

Produced by Penny Dale.

Artwork: Richard Abong’o.