Averting a COVID-19 Debt Trap

April 9, 2021

The pandemic has left countries with higher debt and fallen revenues. (iStock by Getty Images/erhui1979)

Debt levels in many countries were high when the pandemic hit. But today, global public debt is reaching 100 percent of GDP. In this podcast, we hear a panel discussion about the very real danger for some countries of falling into a debt trap. The seminar was held during the 2021 IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings and featured IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, Mohamed El-Erian, President of Queens’ College, Cambridge, and Vera Songwe, Under-Secretary-General at the United Nations. The Panel was moderated by Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times.

IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva.

Mohamed El-Erian, President of Queens’ College, Cambridge.

Vera Songwe, Under-Secretary-General at the United Nations.  

Martin Wolf, Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times.