World's finance leaders face problems they can't solve

Every April, the world's finance ministers and other economic policy leaders descend on Washington for the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. Things feel different this year — and not just because D.C. has had a stubbornly late-arriving spring.

Why it matters: The world is facing profound economic challenges — global supply shortages caused by pandemic and war — that defy the ability of economic policymakers to solve through clever management of spending or interest rates.

State of play: Through the last 15 years years of financial crises...