Age of globalisation is now the age of instability – and we need a plan | Larry Elliott

Bridgetown Initiative could be way for rich nations' development finance words to become action

Kristalina Georgieva is one of life's optimists, so it was no surprise that the managing director of the International Monetary Fund found things to be cheerful about at last week's gathering of finance ministers and central bank governors in Washington.

The two Bretton Woods institutions - the IMF and the World Bank - meet every six months, and since October, fears of a deep recession have receded. As Georgieva noted, the global economy has shown unexpected resilience. Energy prices have come down and that makes the outlook for inflation better. What's more, the IMF chief said there was a can-do approach at the meeting.