Deepening Divides: The Cost of a More Fragmented Financial System
you are currently viewing::Deepening Divides: The Cost of a More Fragmented Financial SystemJune 4, 2026-The period spanning 2025 and early 2026 marked a turning point for the global trade and financial systems as states deployed economic statecraft on a scale not seen in the modern era, accelerating and deepening fragmentation. These developments are putting mounting pressure on the foundational principles that underpin global finance-such as the interoperability of payment systems and the independence of fiscal and monetary policy-and are raising new concerns around norms like the integrity of public data. These global trends present concrete risks and opportunities for emerging markets and developing economies, which are explored in detail in a case study on major African economies. Deepening Divides: The Cost of a More Fragmented Financial System renews the private sector's call to preserve the core elements of the global financial system that enable economic growth and long-term prosperity. Source: World Economic Forum |
April 13, 2026--Global imbalances are back in focus. Central banks, international organizations, the G7 and the G20 are debating their causes and remedies. This Paris Report 4-a joint CEPR-Bruegel initiative-aims to provide independent analytical foundations for the debate, particularly for the French G7 presidency. It brings together 17 contributions on global imbalances over the past century, their current configuration among key players (the United States, Europe, and China), and perspectives from lower-income countries.
April 10, 2026-Summary
This paper investigates how the 2025 U.S. trade-policy shocks propagated to global equity valuations. Country-level studies have documented the aggregate costs of tariffs and uncertainty- but firm-level evidence on their joint role after the 2025 shocks remains limited. Filling this gap- we use a firm-level event-study design to disentangle a trade-exposure channel from a sensitivity-to-uncertainty channel.
April 10, 2026-Summary
Payment stablecoins are privately issued digital money with the potential to enhance payment efficiency- foster innovation- and improve financial inclusion. At the same time- they are vulnerable to runs and associated welfare losses. One way to lower run risk is to require stablecoin issuers to hold safe assets. But doing so may lower issuers' profitability and thus their incentive to provide stablecoins- hampering payment innovation and product variety.
April 6, 2026-Summary
Against the backdrop of persistent and recently widening global imbalances, the paper presents a structured framework for understanding how domestic policies can influence current account positions by altering domestic saving and investment decisions. Staff analysis finds that traditional macroeconomic policies remain the dominant drivers of imbalances, but certain types of industrial policies could also play a role.