Date: 2025-08-22 Page is: DBtxt003.php txt00020379
International Finance
IMF
What are special drawing rights?
Peter Burgess
Dev Explains
Hailed as one of the most significant resources to help low-income countries cope with the economic impacts of the pandemic, the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights are also among the trickiest to wrap your head around. Even U.S. senators and U.S. Treasury secretaries are prone to arguing over how these global reserve assets actually work — and who pays for them.
Thankfully, Adva Saldinger is here to explain SDRs once and for all.
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DevExplains: What are Special Drawing Rights?
DevExplains: What are Special Drawing Rights? Via YouTube
The COVID-19 crisis has created a serious liquidity crisis in some low-income countries that are unable to mount massive domestic stimulus efforts.
To address this challenge, those countries, along with development advocates, have been pushing the International Monetary Fund to agree to a new issuance of Special Drawing Rights.
SDRs have increasingly been in the news as discussions about a potential issuance have heated up at the G-20 and G-7 groups of nations — and, most recently, at IMF itself. In fact, news emerged last week that a new issuance of about $650 billion is likely, with IMF planning to present a proposal to its directors by June.
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But SDRs, a global reserve asset, are somewhat complicated and often misunderstood.
In this video, Devex explains what they are, how they work, and how they can be a tool to respond to the COVID-19 crisis.
About the author
Adva Saldinger@AdvaSal ... Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex, where she covers the intersection of business and international development, as well as U.S. foreign aid policy. From partnerships to trade and social entrepreneurship to impact investing, Adva explores the role the private sector and private capital play in development. A journalist with more than 10 years of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.
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What are special drawing rights?
19 views•Mar 26, 2021
Devex 8.69K subscribers
The COVID-19 crisis has created a serious liquidity crisis in some low-income countries that are unable to mount massive domestic stimulus efforts.
To address this challenge, those countries, along with development advocates, have been pushing the International Monetary Fund to agree to a new issuance of Special Drawing Rights.
SDRs have increasingly been in the news as discussions about a potential issuance have heated up at the G-20 and G-7 groups of nations — and, most recently, at IMF itself. In fact, news emerged last week that a new issuance of about $650 billion is likely, with IMF planning to present a proposal to its directors by June.
But SDRs, a global reserve asset, are somewhat complicated and often misunderstood.
In this video, Devex explains what they are, how they work, and how they can be a tool to respond to the COVID-19 crisis.
For more international development news, visit: http://www.devex.com
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