Guardians of Global Economy Come Up Short in Virus Battle (1)

The guardians of the global economy came up short.

Facing what the International Monetary Fund says is a crisis like no other, policy makers from leading economies agreed this past week on a set of initiatives to help emerging markets and poor nations weather the coronavirus shock, including a path-breaking halt on debt payments.

But critics faulted the Group of 20 for failing to adopt for the rest of the world the all-out approach they’ve embraced to help their own countries.

“I had modest expectations, which they significantly disappointed,” former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers said. “It’s whatever it ...