Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This Policy Brief is from the Government Revenue and Development (GRADE) project. It uses the research of the project to suggest ways in which a major step towards achieving the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs) could be achieved. Sources of additional funds are investigated: reallocating the IMF special drawing rights (SDRs) to channel them towards lower-income countries, reorganising the international tax system so that profits are taxed in the country where profits are made, external debt relief, and reducing tax exemptions. Among these options, the reallocation of SDRs is by far the most powerful way of moving towards the attainment of the SDGs. In combination, the additional revenue would increase access to critical SDG-related services and almost achieve several SDG targets. For example, by 2030, of those without access, 100% would access electricity, 90% clean fuel, 93% basic water, 77% sanitation, and 58% of children who are out of school would attend school.