During the 2008 financial crisis, the International Monetary Fund allocated $250bn in special drawing rights to members. In a thoughtful FT Alphaville piece, academics Kevin Gallagher, José Ocampo and Ulrich Volz lay out the case for a coronavirus allocation of at least $500bn. Despite cogent reasoning, I am not persuaded this proposal represents an efficient or practical way forward. Better steps can be taken. Gallagher, Ocampo and Volz observe that emerging markets and developing countries face an exogenous shock, and could receive substantial liquidity from an allocation.This would help EMDCs cope with the virus, c ... (full story)