Bretton Woods Project analysis:

• Wrap-up analysis of the key developments on debt, tax, fiscal stimulus and sustainable recovery
• G24 communiqué & press briefing analysis
• G20 communiqué & press briefing analysis

On tax: “The G20 welcomed reports on the Blueprints for Pillar 1 and Pillar 2 by the G20 and Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). The proposals outline new rules on where tax should be paid and a global minimum tax, which the OECD estimated would recoup $200 billion of revenue gains. Yet, the proposals fell far short of expectations. Alex Cobham of Tax Justice Network lambasted the reports as ‘tax haven lite’ and argued that they indicated that the OECD is, ‘incapable of delivering the urgent tax reforms the world needs.’ Tax justice campaigner and journalist Oliver Bullough pointed out that the new proposals would account for under half of the world’s annual losses to tax havens. Even these piecemeal proposals have yet to be agreed, with the G20 communiqué urging parties to ‘address the remaining issues with a view to reaching a global and consensus-based solution by mid-2021.’ This is despite the OECD’s own warning that developing countries dealing with costs of the pandemic could face a double blow from escalating trade wars unless international talks on tax rules are successful.”

• IMF Committee communiqué & press briefing analysis
• Development Committeecommuniqué & press briefing analysis. Here is the UK’s statement to the Development Committee.

If you missed some of the Civil Society Policy Forum events from the month, here are notes from six of them:

• Building a feminist recovery for all: Gender transformative policies are more urgent than ever. This virtual Civil Society Policy Forum session on 1 October was sponsored by ActionAid UK, ActionAid, Fight Inequality Alliance, International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific, BWP, Kvinna till Kvinna, Gender Action, Oxfam.
• Fiscal space for universal health and social protection post Covid-19 pandemic: How to prevent austerity. This Civil Society Policy Forum session was sponsored by the Global Social Justice Program at the Initiative for Policy Dialogue, Columbia University and co-sponsored by WEMOS, the Bretton Woods Project, ActionAid, ITUC, CSBAG, Eurodad and Bread for the World. A video of the session has also been made available by the IMF.
• World Bank Group’s ‘Maximizing Finance for Development’ in times of Covid-19
• Covid-19 and debt: Going beyond debt suspension towards a systemic response to debt crises
• Climate change and the Covid-19 recovery – the role of the IMF in building back better. This Civil Society Policy Forum session was sponsored by Recourse, Oxfam, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, EarthlifeAfrica, Centre for Financial Accountability, Bretton Woods Project, and E3G. Video of the session in available online.
• Tracking the trillions: Emergency funds, corruption and making the Covid-19 recovery work for all.

The schedule for official events organised by the IMF and World Bank last week are here, though not all were recorded.

Plus not technically CSPF but nonetheless interesting events around the meetings:

• Enough is enough: Privatisation & public services, a conversation with current and former UN Special Rapporteurs. Organised by ActionAid, The East African Centre for Human Rights (EACHRights), the European Network on Debt and Development (Eurodad), the Global Initiative for Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (GI-ESCR), the Initiative for Social and Economic Rights (ISER), Oxfam, the Society for International Development (SID), Public Services International (PSI), and the Translational Institute (TNI).
• The IMF’s COVID-19 Response: A Conversation with Joseph E. Stiglitz. Organised by the Boston University GDP Center

There were also a few reports, briefings and blogs released by CSOs ahead of/during the meetings (please feel free to add to this if I have missed any):

• ActionAid International policy brief, The Pandemic and the Public Sector
• Oxfam International, A Virus of Austerity? The COVID-19 spending, accountability, and recovery measures agreed between the IMF and your government, New analysis by Oxfam finds that 76 out of the 91 IMF loans negotiated with 81 countries since March 2020 ―when the pandemic was declared― push for belt-tightening that could result in deep cuts to public healthcare systems and pension schemes, wage freezes and cuts for public sector workers such as doctors, nurses and teachers, and unemployment benefits, like sick pay.
• Oxfam, Christian Aid, CAFOD, Jubilee Debt Campaign, Global Justice Now, Under the radar: private sector debt and coronavirus in developing countries
• Eurodad and SOAS, Never let a pandemic go to waste: How the World Bank’s Covid-19 response is prioritising the private sector. New analysis finds that over half of the World Bank's emergency funding to tackle the Coronavirus crisis goes to the private sector.
• Eurodad, Arrested Development: International Monetary Fund lending and austerity post Covid-19
• Gender Action, Unmet promises: Making IFI policies and projects deliver on gender equal rights
• Center for Global Development, New data show the World Bank’s COVID response is too small and too slow
• Eurodad, Shadow report on the limitations of the G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative: Draining out the Titanic with a bucket?
• Oxfam, People can’t afford to pay for health care in a pandemic. Why isn’t the World Bank doing more to help?
• Recourse, Build Back Better? IMF’s policy advice hampers green COVID19 recovery
• Recourse, Off target: World Bank’s fossil fuel addiction keeps energy poor countries in the dark

Letters

• Over 500 organisations and academics around the world call on IMF to stop promoting austerity in the Coronavirus recovery period
• More than 500 civil society organisations call for immediate debt cancellation to help lower-income countries fight Covid-19