Person:
Kose, M. Ayhan
Author Name Variants
Fields of Specialization
International macroeconomics,
International finance
Degrees
External Links
Departments
Prospects Group, The World Bank
Externally Hosted Work
Contact Information
Last updated
January 31, 2023
Biography
M. Ayhan Kose is Director of the World Bank Group’s Prospects Group. He previously worked in the Research and Western Hemisphere Departments of the International Monetary Fund. He is a Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Research Fellow at the Center for Economic Policy Research, a Dean’s Fellow at University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, and a Research Associate at the Center for Applied Macroeconomic Analysis.
Publication Search Results
1 - 2 of 2
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Publication
Can This Time Be Different? Policy Options in Times of Rising Debt
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2020-03)Episodes of debt accumulation have been a recurrent feature of the global economy over the past fifty years. Since 2010, emerging and developing economies have experienced another wave of historically large and rapid debt accumulation. Similar past debt buildups have often ended in widespread financial crises in these economies. This paper examines the factors that are likely to determine the outcome of the most recent debt wave, and considers policy options to help reduce the likelihood that it ends again in widespread crises. It reports two main results. First, the rapid increase in debt has made emerging and developing economies more vulnerable to shifts in market sentiment, notwithstanding historically low global interest rates. Second, policy options are available to lower the likelihood of financial crises, and to help manage the adverse impacts of crises when they do occur. These include sound debt management, strong monetary and fiscal frameworks, and robust bank supervision and regulation. The post-crisis debt buildup has coincided with a period of subdued growth as well as the emergence of non-traditional creditors. As a result, policy priorities also need to ensure that debt is spent on productive purposes to improve growth prospects and that all debt-related transactions are transparently reported. -
Publication
The Aftermath of Debt Surges
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2021-09)Debt in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) is at its highest level in half a century. In about nine out of 10 EMDEs, debt is higher now than it was in 2010 and, in half of the EMDEs, debt is more than 30 percentage points of gross domestic product higher. Historically, elevated debt levels increased the incidence of debt distress, particularly in EMDEs and particularly when financial market conditions turned less benign. This paper reviews an encompassing menu of options that have, in the past, helped lower debt burdens. Specifically, it examines orthodox options (enhancing growth, fiscal consolidation, privatization, and wealth taxation) and heterodox options (inflation, financial repression, debt default and restructuring). The mix of feasible options depends on country characteristics and the type of debt. However, none of these options comes without political, economic, and social costs. Some options may ultimately be ineffective unless vigorously implemented. Policy reversals in difficult times have been common. The challenges associated with debt reduction raise questions of global governance, including to what extent advanced economies can cast their net wider to cushion prospective shocks to EMDEs.