Reforms to boost growth, alongside credible tax and spending plans, could help governments avoid a new wave of financial repression, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) official said on Monday.
Niel Sheins, Assistant to the Director of the IMF’s Strategy, Policy, and Review Department, was speaking at the 2026 IMF-World Bank Group Annual Summit in Bangkok. The event, organized by the World Bank, IMF, and Thailand’s Ministry of Finance, brought together global leaders, businesses, and other sectors to discuss global economic policy.
Mr. Sheins’ analysis session, “The Coming Great Repression? New Measures and a Century of Evidence,” examined quantitative indicators of financial repression across 17 advanced economies since 1921. He explained that debt in advanced economies has steadily risen over two decades, driven by persistent deficits, while short-term maturities have declined, requiring governments to seek refinancing on favorable terms.
He noted that financial repression has resurfaced after the global financial crisis, with central banks expanding their balance sheets through asset purchases and quantitative easing. He stated that “subordinated measures” have been used or encouraged to hold government debt, while central banks have created money to finance fiscal deficits or steer private savings toward the state at favorable rates.
Direct measures involve higher taxes and lower government spending, the path recommended by the IMF, said Sheins. He added that this can ease social tensions and facilitate political compromise, while a transparent spending and tax debate can secure public support.
Mr. Sheins outlined two debt reduction approaches. Firstly, direct measures, which include unexpected inflation, central bank money creation to finance fiscal deficits, or steering private savings toward the state at favorable rates. Secondly, indirect measures, which involve quantitative easing and asset purchases by central banks, expanding their balance sheets.
He urged relevant sectors to build consensus for growth and credible fiscal consolidation. “Now, I’m not here to tell you that we are fated for a second great repression, but that we have a window to act. And that is what I am telling you now.”