Macroeconomic Literacy Online Modules
We are developing a set of online video modules based on the two-day Macroeconomic Literacy Training Workshop hosted by HAI in 2008. These modules cover the basics of macroeconomic policy, how the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank operate, and the impact of their policies on health systems in developing countries.
Now available:
Introduction to Macroeconomic Literacy (Overview)
This short video shares highlights from the Macroeconomic Literacy Training workshop and provides a brief overview of how macroeconomic policies have constrained health spending in developing countries. It also touches on why it is imperative for NGOs to understand the implications of these policies for their own work in developing countries.
Macroeconomic Alternatives and Financing of Public Services
The videos below are based on a lecture about how macroeconomic policies impact the ability of developing country governments to invest in health. Macroeconomic Alternatives and Financing of Public Services Part I and Part II are a compilation of a presentation by James Heintz at the Macroeconomic Literacy Training Workshop. James Heintz is Associate Director of the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts.
Part I: The Logic of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
In this video you will learn:
- How the IMF approaches developmental economics
- The differentiation between policy targets and policy instruments
- How the IMF assigns policy instruments to policy targets, with a focus on sub-Saharan Africa
- Why the IMF encourages countries to constrain social spending
Part II: Alternative Frameworks for Macroeconomic Policy Development
In this video you will learn:
- How macroeconomic policy changes can expand country budgets for health, education and other social spending
- Realistic options for policy development and advocacy
- How to optimize developmental fiscal policy (country budgets)
- Why domestic borrowing is so costly in many developing countries
- How country banks can play a developmental role
- The importance of a coordinated approach to developmental economics