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August 7, 2025This episode focuses on the Africa Pulse Report 2025, the World Bank’s flagship analysis of economic trends and policy challenges in Sub-Saharan Africa. As the region works to strengthen its recovery while contending with structural and macroeconomic difficulties, Andrew Dabalen, Chief ... -
August 4, 2025An Executive Order issued on July 30 by President Donald Trump hiked United States tariffs on imports from Brazil by 40%, in addition to the 10% established on April 2—the so-called ‘Liberation Day’ when Trump set out ‘reciprocal tariffs’ on countries around the world.The decree came with a long list of exemptions for Brazilian exports. For a number of product lines, the 10% April 2 tariff will continue to apply. These include air transport equipment, orange juice, furniture, fuel, ... -
July 31, 2025This episode explores Africa's role amid a shifting global order marked by fragmentation and competing blocs. It examines whether African states are passive responders or active shapers of new strategic alignments like BRICS+ and South–South cooperation. The discussion also addresses Af...
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July 25, 2025This paper was originally published on The South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) In the face of Africa’s development challenges and the mismatch between long-term needs and short-term pressures, ring-fencing development expenditures offers a viable solution to secure sustainable financing for growth. ... -
July 24, 2025This episode explores the potential of debt-for-climate swaps as a strategic tool to address climate challenges and fiscal constraints in developing countries. While implementation has often been slow and fragmented, the conversation examines practical experiences from regions like Lati...
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July 21, 2025This article assesses the economic performance of the original BRICS economies, relative to the growth and currency appreciation projections presented in the papers that introduced the acronym, prior to the grouping becoming a diplomatic, political, and economic reality. It also discusses the BRICS agenda in the current challenging geopolitical context, in which economic fragmentation tends to raise costs for the global economy and presents considerable obstacles for emerging and de ... -
July 18, 2025This Blog was originally published on t20southafrica.org The G20 should address reform challenges during South Africa's presidency, as ongoing geopolitical tensions obstruct global cooperation and complicate efforts to revamp the international financial architecture. ... -
July 14, 2025The BRICS+ group of countries met in Rio de Janeiro over the weekend of 6-7 July. The original group – Brazil, Russia, India, China and, soon after, South Africa – emerged as the materialization of a work of fiction. Jim O’Neill, then chief economist at Goldman Sachs, produced a report in 2001 drawing attention to the rise of these countries as emerging regional powers in global economic growth. ... -
July 14, 2025African policymakers face complex fiscal policy challenges as they seek to balance limited resources and rising debt with pressing development goals. Persistent deficits, constrained revenue mobilization, and mounting debt service obligations restrict the fiscal space necessary for infr...
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July 14, 2025African central banks face tough choices as receding inflation in some countries prompts debate over when to ease policy rates, while persistent inflation and its social consequences complicate the picture. Most countries have kept rates tight or unchanged in 2024; a few have cautiously...
