Growth in a Time of Crisis: What’s Ahead for Developing Economies

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The opening public event of this year’s Annual Meetings – Growth in a Time of Crisis: What’s Next for Developing Economies – delved into questions like these:

  • How can countries build back to a sustainable, resilient, and inclusive economic recovery while also investing in their people? 
  • What are the fundamental barriers to sustainable and inclusive growth in low and middle-income countries and fragile and conflict-affected settings, and what does the future of growth look like?
  • What types of policies are important to support inclusive growth for vulnerable populations? How can digital technology help ensure inclusion?
  • What’s needed to support private investment, especially small and medium enterprises, and create jobs in developing countries?
  • What role can central banks play to help spur job creation and investment?

We heard from World Bank Group President David Malpass and World Bank Group Chief Economist Carmen Reinhart, as well as other high-profile experts, policymakers, private sector leaders and civil society representatives on the way forward for developing countries. 

Felix Mlusu, Malawi’s Minister of Finance; Elliott Harris, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Economic Development and Chief Economist; and Husna Ahmad, CEO of Global One 2015, discussed how to support inclusive growth and reverse the negative impact of the pandemic on poverty and shared prosperity for the bottom 40% of the population.

Ali Allawi, Iraq’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance; Maya Chorengel, co-managing partner at The Rise Fund; and Pia Tayag, Director at the office of the UN Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA), focused on how to increase private investment and create jobs in middle-income countries. Reza Baqir, Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, reflected on the role of central banks in helping countries pull through this global crisis.

Throughout, the interactive and inclusive event reflected the voices of youth, heads of state and small business owners. View the event replay on World Bank Live!