Chart of the WeekChina’s Digital Dividend
By Longmei Zhang and Sally Chen
Digitalization has created millions of new jobs in China, accounting for between one-third and one-half of employment growth in the world’s second-largest economy. […]
Women, Technology, and the Future of Work
By Era Dabla-Norris and Kalpana Kochhar
November 16, 2018
عربي, 中文, Español, Français, 日本語, Português, Русский
Women are currently underrepresented in fields experiencing job growth, such as engineering and information and communication technology (photo: Vgajic/iStock by Getty Images)
The way we work is changing at an unprecedented rate. Digitalization, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are eliminating many jobs involving low and middle-skill routine tasks through automation. […]
Steering the World Toward More Cooperation, Not Less
By Vitor Gaspar, Sean Hagan, and Maurice Obstfeld
September 6, 2018
عربي, Baˈhasa indoneˈsia, 中文,Español, Français, 日本語,Português,Русский
With the world becoming more interdependent than ever before, countries can achieve a lot when they pull together (photo: Anton Sokolov/iStock by Getty Images)
Countries cooperate if they perceive it to be in their best interests, both economically and politically. […]
Chart of the Week: Invest in Robots and People in Asia
By IMFBlog
August 29, 2018
عربي, 中文, Español, Baˈhasa indoneˈsia, 日本語, Português, Русский,
An engineer adjusts a robot arm in a robotics plant in Shenyang, China, where industrial robots are widely used for manufacturing (photo: Yang Qing Xinhua News Agency/Newscom)
With about 1 million robots in use in Asia, robotics and automation mean economic risks and growth opportunities for the region. […]
Chart of the Week: The Spread of Ideas and Innovation
By IMFBlog
July 30, 2018
Versions in عربي, Español, Français, 中文, 日本語, Português, Русский
Young woman watches robotic fish in Gangneung, South Korea: the spread of knowledge and technology across counties has intensified because of globalization (photo: Richard Ellis/UPI/Newscom).
Globalization has accelerated the spread of knowledge and technology across borders. This has helped to increase productivity and potential growth in many countries and at the global level. […]
Chart of the Week: Japan’s Robots
By IMFBlog
June 12, 2018
A Panasonic robot moves around the lounge of Tokyo’s Narita International Airport (photo: Yoshio Tsunoda/AAFLO/Alamy Live News)
As Japan’s population ages and the birth rate is too low to sustain growth, the country is no stranger to coping with a limited number of working age people. […]
Global Economy: Good News for Now but Trade Tensions a Threat
April 17, 2018
Versions in عربي (Arabic), baˈhasa indoneˈsia (Indonesian), 中文 (Chinese), Español (Spanish), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Português (Portuguese), Русский (Russian)
Container ship in Colombo, Sri Lanka: the recent escalating tensions over trade present a growing risk to the global economy (photo: STRINGER/REUTERS/Newscom).
The world economy continues to show broad-based momentum. Against that positive backdrop, the prospect of a similarly broad-based conflict over trade presents a jarring picture.
Three months ago, we updated our global growth forecast for this year and next substantially, to 3.9 percent in both years. That forecast is being borne out by continuing strong performance in the euro area, Japan, China, and the United States, all of which grew above expectations last year. We also project near-term improvements for several other emerging market and developing economies, including some recovery in commodity exporters. Continuing to power the world economy’s upswing are accelerations in investment and, notably, in trade. […]
An Even-handed Approach to Crypto-Assets
April 16, 2018
Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Español (Spanish), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Português (Portuguese), Русский (Russian)
Healthcare companies are studying how to use the technology behind crypto assets to maintain confidential medical data (BSIphotos/Newscom).
The dizzying gyrations of crypto-assets such as Bitcoin invite comparisons with the tulip mania that swept Holland in the 17th century and the recent dot-com bubble. With more than 1,600 crypto-assets in circulation, it seems inevitable that many will not survive the process of creative destruction.
In my blog last month, I looked at the dark side of crypto-assets, including their potential use for money laundering and the financing of terrorism. Here, I want to examine the promise they offer. A judicious look at crypto-assets should lead us to neither crypto-condemnation nor crypto-euphoria. […]
Globalization Helps Spread Knowledge and Technology Across Borders
By Aqib Aslam, Johannes Eugster, Giang Ho, Florence Jaumotte, Carolina Osorio-Buitron, and Roberto Piazza
April 9, 2018
Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Español (Spanish), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Português (Portuguese), Русский (Russian)
Using artificial intelligence at a hospital in Qingdao, China: the spread of knowledge and technology between countries has intensified (photo: Sipa Asia/Sipa USA/Newscom).
It took 1,000 years for the invention of paper to spread from China to Europe. Nowadays, in a world that has become more integrated, innovations spread faster and through many channels.
Our research in Chapter 4 of the April 2018 World Economic Outlook takes a closer look at how technology travels between countries. We find that the spread of knowledge and technology across borders has intensified because of globalization. In emerging markets, the transfer of technology has helped to boost innovation and productivity even in the recent period of weak global productivity growth. […]