After more than a year of grappling with the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, many middle-income countries (MICs) will continue to experience health and economic dislocation for some time to come. While much of the global financial community’s attention has focused on supporting low-income countries (LICs), the majority of the world’s poor are in MICs, and economic recovery in these countries will be critical to an equitable and sustainable global future.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) can be a key player in mobilizing the short- and medium-term financing needed to help MICs emerge from the crisis and set a new course for the global economy. Yet to date, many MICs have hesitated to access IMF financing to confront the current crisis. (Of course, countries classified as MICs differ from one another significantly, including in their relations with the IMF. Some—such as Botswana, Malaysia, and Saudi Arabia—have never borrowed from the IMF, while others—such as Argentina, Pakistan, and Turkey—have had repeated IMF-supported programs.)

Paper by the Center for Global Development