• What is Finance & Development?

F&D is the most-read magazine of the IMF. It focuses on issues related to macroeconomics, development and finance. It is editorially independent and has been authored both within and outside the Foundation. Articles are published online throughout the year, and a subset of articles appear in our quarterly print edition (March, June, September and December). In addition to English, F&D is available in Arabic, Chinese, French, Japanese, Russian and Spanish.

• Who reads Finance & Development?

F&D readers are well-educated people interested in economic and development issues – many are policymakers in the public and private sectors – but they are not necessarily economists. learn. More than 3 million people read F&D’s digital edition each year, and our weekly e-newsletter has a six-figure audience. Thus, our readership is both broad and deep.

• Why write for Finance & Development?

Writing for F&D is a great way to reach a highly educated global audience to offer ideas or share views that could contribute to an ongoing debate. F&D bets on accessibility:
it provides an opportunity to talk about what you know in a way that will resonate with a wide range of people, from well-educated members of the public to academics and policymakers.

• How to write for amateurs?

The tone of your writing should be that of a serious mainstream magazine – for example, The Economist, Foreign Policy, The Atlantic Weekly – and not that of an academic journal. You need to present your article to a wide audience. Some tips:

First impressions last a lifetime…

Captivate your readers with a lively opening and immediately assert that your perspective is interesting, important, and fresh. Engage the reader with concrete and colorful examples.
Avoid jargon, overly formal language, and technical analysis that can be difficult for non-specialist readers.

Serious topics can also appeal…

Focus on what is happening in the world around us and how the challenges need to be addressed; Discussion of what happens in organizations or economic sectors should be included only insofar as it relates to the outside world (avoid inner baseball).
Provide analysis leading to conclusions and recommendations; not just description.
Be brief – ask yourself what you can cut without interrupting the article. As simple as beautiful. Also, use compelling examples and avoid generic and trivial statements.

Use graphics wisely. Ask yourself:

What is the main message you want your audience to get from the data. Many graphics fail because they try to convey too much of a message and don’t effectively explain how the average reader would interpret the visual image and end up with something understandable and memorable. Keep references to a maximum of five and avoid footnotes.

Make your goodbyes memorable…

End the post on a forward-looking note – sharing a preview of what’s next.