By Paola Subacchi, Professor of International Economics at Queen Mary University of London’s Global Policy Institute, is the author, most recently of The Cost of Free Money (Yale University Press, 2020)

This blog is part of a series on tackling COVID-19 in developing countries. Visit the OECD dedicated page to access the OECD’s data, analysis and recommendations on the health, economic, financial and societal impacts of COVID-19 worldwide.

When a crisis strikes, it is a time to be bold and do whatever it takes to avoid the worst. The response to the COVID-19 pandemic so far has been surprisingly bold at the national level, but at the international level, it has been disappointing to say the least. The G20 – the “premier forum for international economic co-operation” – has played no significant role in this crisis, or at least not one comparable to the role it played during the global financial crisis. Unlike in 2008, when it led the multilateral policy response, the G20 has attempted neither to coordinate the fiscal response nor to ensure that robust and broad multilateral financial safety nets are in place. It is arguable whether the nature of the current crisis requires the same deployment of financial resources as when the banking and financial systems in many countries seized up. However, the IMF and the World Bank have beefed up their resources to an unprecedented $1 trillion of loans and non-conditional credit lines to help developing countries. The G20, in turn, has agreed on temporary debt relief for low-income countries, but limited the suspension to one year. So far just $5.3 billion in bilateral debt repayments have been suspended, against an expected $11.5 billion – clearly this initiative has fallen short in ambition and scope. Continue reading “The G20 and the failure of policy coordination during COVID-19”