Soaring inflation and devalued currencies have created a catastrophic debt crisis for much of the world, including in countries like Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
Malaysian economist Jomo Kwame Sundaram says the instability is largely driven by interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve, which have the effect of increasing borrowing costs for poorer countries and devaluing their currencies compared to the US dollar.
The intensifying US economic war on China is also hurting many countries of the Global South that are linked to Chinese industry, he says.
World Bank president David Malpass said on Wednesday he will resign his post by the end of June, nearly a year before his five-year term is set to expire. Malpass was nominated to head the World Bank in 2019 by then US President Donald Trump.
Democracy Now! is joined for an extended two-part interview by Malaysian economist Prof Jomo Kwame Sundaram of the Khazanah Research Institute in Kuala Lumpur, who talks about the power of institutions like the World Bank and their connection to the climate emergency and the global debt crisis.
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
As long as the US Federal Reserve prints the US dollar, which is the default currency for international trade. In order to plug into the international trading system additionally forces currencies such as the ringgit to the pegged to the US dollar. Manipulations of the interest rateS in the US will have repercussions on currencies such as the ringgit. The only antidote to this is either to delink the ringgit to the dollar or amass a sizable amount of dollars as back up which can then be used to support the ringgit when there is a flight of money to the US banks to secure the benefits of the higher interest rates in the US. Currently IMDB and others have seriously decreased the prospects of this avenue.