Food and fuel prices - recent developments, macroeconomic impact, and policy responses

International Monetary Fund's advice to policy makers to tackle development issues.

This report provides a first broad assessment of the impact of the surge in food and fuel prices on the balance of payments, budgets, prices, and poverty of a large sample of countries. It reviews countries’ macroeconomic policy responses to date and also discusses International Monetary Fund 's (IMF) advice for managing the price increases. It advises that policies should:

ensure that food and finance reaches the most affected countries as quickly as possible,
include targeted and scaled-up social measures
avoid high costs in terms of macroeconomic instability or loss in future agricultural production.

The paper states that, collaborating with international partners, the IMF stands ready to provide balance of payments assistance. The paper presents an initial assessment of a still-evolving situation, which indicates a tentative nature of the analysis.

Related content

Document
Welfare and the depth of informality: Evidence from five African countries
E. Egger, C. Poggi, H. Rufrancos / United Nations University, 2021
This study explores the relationship between household poverty and depth of informality by proposing a new measure of informality at the household level. It is defined as the share of activities (hours worked or income earned) without social insurance for wage workers in the household.
Document
The Green Revolution and Poverty in Northern Tamil Nadu: a Brief Synthesis of Village-Level Research in the Last Half-Century
B. Harriss-White / STEPS Centre, Institute of Development Studies, 2020
Between 1972 and 2014, in Northern Tamil Nadu (NTN), India, the Green Revolution (GR) in agriculture was studied through five rounds of village-level studies (VLS).
Document
The green revolution and poverty in Northern Tamil Nadu: A brief synthesis of village-level research in the last half-century
B. Harriss-White / STEPS Centre, Institute of Development Studies, 2021
Between 1972 and 2014, in Northern Tamil Nadu (NTN), India, the Green Revolution (GR) in agriculture was studied through five rounds of village-level studies (VLS).
Document
At the table, off the menu? Assessing the participation of lower-income countries in global tax negotiations
R. Corlin Christensen, M. Hearson, T. Randriamanalina / Institute of Development Studies UK, 2020
For half a century, the most influential international rules and standards for taxing multinational corporations have been formulated by a select group of developed countries, the OECD, with lower-income countries on the outside. Since 2013, this has changed: decision making at the OECD has moved to the ‘Inclusive Framework’ (IF), which today encompasses 137 jurisdictions.
Document
Economic transformation in Vietnam
United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research, 2020
During the last three decades Vietnam has undergone a considerable economic transformation. However, little research has considered the role that financial reform has played in the development of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs).

Eldis

Food and fuel prices - recent developments, macroeconomic impact, and policy responses