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Electoral campaign posters are seen ahead of Nigeria's Presidential elections, in Yola, Nigeria, February 23, 2023.

REUTERS/Esa Alexander

What We're Watching: Nigerians vote, Biden's World Bank pick

Nigeria's presidential election head-scratcher

Nigerians go to the polls Saturday to vote in what is being billed as the most open presidential election in Africa's most populous country since democracy was restored in 1999. That's mostly thanks to buzz about Peter Obi, a third-party candidate who's leading most polls ahead of both Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the ruling party's pick, and opposition candidate Atiku Abubakar. With almost half the electorate undecided, Obi faces tough odds. First, to win outright, he must get the most votes nationwide and at least 25% in at least two-thirds of Nigeria's 36 states – but he doesn’t have strong party machinery to turn out voters. Second, if no candidate meets both conditions, the election goes to a runoff between the most-voted for candidate and — here's where it gets complicated — the one who placed second in the highest number of states. Also, keep an eye out for the rollout of machines to verify biometric voter ID to curb fraud. If the devices malfunction or are not widely deployed, expect many Nigerians to consider the election anything but free and fair.

Interested in the Nigerian election? Listen to Amaka Anku, head of Eurasia Group’s Africa practice, on this GZERO podcast in collaboration with The Center for Global Development podcast.

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Will There Be a Global Recession in 2023? | World Bank's David Malpass | GZERO World

What's the chance of a global recession in 2023?

World Bank President David Malpass says the chances of a global recession in 2023 are 50/50, though he is more worried that the middle-income and poorest countries are moving backward in education, health, food insecurity, and capital flows.

These nations, he tells Ian Bremmer on GZERO World, are actually moving backward on all development indicators. And with most capital now being poured into high-income countries, the world is becoming a more unequal place.

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The Debilitating Cost of Remittances | Economic Empowerment | GZERO Media

The debilitating cost of remittances

Dilip Ratha knows how hard it is to work abroad and send money home. Why? Because he had to go through the same hoops when he was a migrant.

It's the inconvenience and the cost, the World Bank's head of KNOMAD and lead economist says during a livestream conversation on closing the global digital gap hosted by GZERO in partnership with Visa.

Still, Ratha points out, these flows are a lifeline for millions of poor families around the world. And they keep the lights on in remittance-dependent economies like El Salvador or Lebanon.

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Ian Explains: The State of the Global Economy Is … Not Good | GZERO World

The state of the global economy is … not good

This year, the annual fall meetings of the World Bank and the IMF were all about global economic doom and gloom.

The IMF has cut its global growth prediction for this year by half compared to 2021. And next year will be the worst since COVID and the 2008 financial crisis.

Meanwhile, inflation is still very high — and efforts by rich countries to tame rising prices are going to hurt poor nations.

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Lowering Costs of Poverty With Digital & Economic Access | Economic Empowerment | GZERO Media

Lowering costs of poverty with digital & economic access

By the end of the decade, 70% of all new value in the global economy will come from digitally enabled businesses. The pandemic accelerated a push toward digitalization, especially in developing nations, yet nearly 4 billion people are still offline, and 1.4 billion don't have a bank account.

Expanding access to digital tools for individuals and small businesses is a no-brainer, but easier said than done. So, what can we do to expand digital trade further, come up with fairer and safer remittances and digital payments, and push to include everyone in tomorrow's digital-first economy?

To get some answers, GZERO hosted in partnership with Visa the livestream conversation "Closing the Gap: Digital Tools for Economic Empowerment," moderated by JJ Ramberg, co-founder of Goodpods and former host of MSNBC's Your Business.

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Can the World Avoid a Global Recession? | GZERO World with Ian Bremmer

Can the world avoid a global recession?

This year, the annual fall meetings of the World Bank and the IMF are all about global economic doom and gloom.

How bad will it get? Are we headed toward a worldwide recession? And who will bear the brunt of the pain?

To get some answers, GZERO World with Ian Bremmer has two very special guests: World Bank President David Malpass and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva.

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Podcast: Winter is coming. Global recession, too?

Listen: Inflation is on the rise, at a rate we haven't seen in through in decades. Is a global recession inevitable? Ian Bremmer speaks to Kristina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund and David Malpass, President of the World Bank, on the GZERO World podcast. Both guests are leading global efforts to get inflation under control, lift millions out of extreme poverty and prevent the next global recession. Whether they’ll succeed is very much an open question.

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"Lives At Risk" in Sub-Saharan Africa Due To Rising Food and Fuel Costs | Global Stage | GZERO Media

Focus on Africa: hunger, energy, climate - and the path to growth

Sub-Saharan Africa was on the brink of economic recovery last year. Now, the World Bank expects its growth to slow in 2023. With global inflation on the rise, rising food and fuel costs “actually put lives at risk in a way few other shocks can," says International Monetary Fund (IMF) senior economist Andrew Tiffin.

And sub-Saharan Africa is particularly vulnerable: 123 million people there are currently food-insecure, while the region accounts for 6% of the global energy demand. With climate change exponentially leading to those numbers rising, Tiffin says: “Any globally viable discussion has to take into account Africa’s concerns and needs. Because without that, there is simply no solution.”

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