Social spending

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has required borrowing countries to quadruple the size of their austerity cuts over the past decade, while simultaneously weakening the protection afforded to social spending in its loan programs, reveals new Oxfam analysis. These cuts undermine vital spending on public services – from healthcare to education and housing – that protect low-income communities. 

An important International Monetary Fund (IMF) initiative to shore up poor people in the Global South from the worst effects of its own austerity measures and the global economic crisis is in tatters.

New Oxfam analysis describes a $27 trillion black hole – accumulating at around $3.9 trillion a year to 2030 – that low-and-middle income countries face to meet climate-related loss and damages, adaptation, and mitigation measures, along with their health, education and social protection needs.

This paper takes a closer look at the gendered impact of conventional macroeconomic policies supported by the International Monetary Fund in its loan programmes for Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia since 2012.

Despite the recent spate of economic growth, Africa remains afflicted by entrenched poverty and alarmingly high and rising inequality. This paper uses the Reducing Inequality Index (CRI) developed by Oxfam and Development Finance to produce a ranking of African countries on their policies to reduce the gap between rich and poor.

The Mauritius Leaks show that tax havens continue not only to exist but to prosper, despite government promises to rein in tax dodging. This briefing lists five steps governments can take to tackle tax avoidance, and end the era of tax havens and the race to the bottom on corporate taxation.

Oxfam’s Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) Index shows that governments in West Africa are the least committed to reducing inequality of any on the continent. If they do not radically increase their commitment to reducing inequality, the crisis is likely to worsen.

Nigeria and Singapore are among a group of governments that are fueling inequality, according to a newly released edition of the Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index developed by Oxfam and Development Finance International.

This second edition of the Commitment to Reducing Inequality (CRI) Index is based on a new database of indicators, now covering 157 countries, which measures government action on social spending, tax and labour rights – three areas found to be critical to reducing the inequality gap.

What is the IMF doing in practice to tackle inequality? Its main initiative has been a series of pilots that integrate inequality analysis into its economic surveillance of countries. This paper outlines Oxfam’s evaluation of these pilots and finds that they are not promoting policies that reduce inequality.