United States | IMF Blog

Global Economic Upswing Creates a Window of Opportunity

October 10, 2017

Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Русский (Russian), and Español (Spanish)

The global recovery is continuing, and at a faster pace. The picture is very different from early last year, when the world economy faced faltering growth and financial market turbulence. We see an accelerating cyclical upswing boosting Europe, China, Japan, and the United States, as well as emerging Asia.

The latest World Economic Outlook has therefore upgraded its global growth projections to 3.6 percent for this year and 3.7 percent for next—in both cases 0.1 percentage point above our previous forecasts, and well above 2016’s global growth rate of 3.2 percent, which was the lowest since the global financial crisis. Continue reading “Global Economic Upswing Creates a Window of Opportunity” »

By IMFBlog| October 10th, 2017|Advanced Economies, capital markets, developing countries, Economic outlook, Emerging Markets, Employment, Environment, Financial Crisis, Fiscal policy, Global Governance, Government, IMF, inclusive growth, Inequality, monetary policy, structural reforms, technology, trade, wages|

Inequality: Tools from the Old Masters to Help Today’s Policymakers

By Vitor Gaspar, Paolo Mauro, and Tigran Poghosyan

October 3, 2017

Unemployed day laborers in South Africa: the country has relatively high income, but also high inequality (photo: Rogan Ward/Newscom).

With inequality rising in many countries, policymakers need to choose the best fiscal policies that will help share the benefits of economic growth, and in so doing, make it more inclusive.

The early 20^th century English economist Arthur Pigou, among others, saw economic welfare as influenced by both “the size of the national dividend” and “the way in which it is distributed among the members of the community.” Continue reading “Inequality: Tools from the Old Masters to Help Today’s Policymakers” »

By IMFBlog| October 3rd, 2017|Economic outlook, Economic research, education, Fiscal policy, Global Governance, Globalization, Government, IMF, inclusive growth, income, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, poverty, U.S.|

The Disconnect Between Unemployment and Wages

By Gee Hee Hong, Zsoka Koczan, Weicheng Lian, Malhar Nabar

September 27, 2017

Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Español (Spanish), Français (French), Русский (Russian)

Demand for workers is rising, but pay is hardly catching up (photo: Shironosov/iStock).

Over the past three years, labor markets in many advanced economies have shown increasing signs of healing from the Great Recession of 2008-09. Yet, despite falling unemployment rates, wage growth has been subdued–raising a vexing question: Why isn’t a higher demand for workers driving up pay?

Our research in the October 2017 World Economic Outlook sheds light on the sources of subdued nominal wage growth in advanced economies since the Great Recession. Understanding the drivers of the disconnect between unemployment and wages is important not only for macroeconomic policy, but also for prospects of reducing income inequality and enhancing workers’ security. Continue reading “The Disconnect Between Unemployment and Wages” »

By IMFBlog| September 27th, 2017|Advanced Economies, Annual Meetings, capital markets, Economic outlook, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Employment, Globalization, inclusive growth, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, Investment, jobs, labor force, labor markets, monetary policy, productivity, unemployment, wages, youth|

Chart of the Week: High Hurdles for Trade in Services

By IMFBlog

September 25, 2017

A shop window in Stockholm, Sweden: 62 % of jobs in the country are in the services sector (photo: Bob Strong/Reuters/Newscom).

The service sector accounts for some two-thirds of economic activity, and roughly the same share of jobs around the world. And yet the barriers to trade in services—from banking to online consultations with doctors or engineers—remain high.

Continue reading “Chart of the Week: High Hurdles for Trade in Services” »

By IMFBlog| September 25th, 2017|Advanced Economies, capital flows, capital markets, commodities, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Employment, Globalization, inclusive growth, International Monetary Fund, Investment, labor markets, productivity, technology, trade|

The Benefits and Costs of a U.S. Tax Cut

By Sandra Lizarazo, Adrian Peralta-Alva, and Damien Puy

September 1, 2017

Versions in Español (Spanish)

A recent IMF paper looks at the effects of lowering personal income tax rates on income distribution and the U.S. economy (photo: Ingram Publishing/Newscom)

U.S. lawmakers getting ready to rewrite the nation’s tax code have a fundamental question to answer: What are the priorities for tax reform? Do you want faster growth? Less income inequality? A tax cut that doesn’t increase the budget deficit? In a recent working paper, we find that, depending on how a tax cut is targeted, it is possible to make some progress toward the first two objectives. Personal income tax cuts can help support growth and, if well targeted, can also help improve income distribution. However, we find that lowering personal income tax rates does not raise growth enough to offset the revenue loss that is caused by the tax cut itself. Continue reading “The Benefits and Costs of a U.S. Tax Cut” »

By IMFBlog| September 1st, 2017|Advanced Economies, Economic Crisis, Financial Crisis, Government, income, Inequality, labor force, taxation, trade, U.S., Uncategorized, unemployment, wages|

Global Cooperation—An Uphill Battle: Finance & Development magazine

By Camilla Lund Andersen

August 30, 2017

As access to information burgeons, experts are more crucial than ever.

This issue of F&D looks at what is arguably the clearest challenge the world faces: how to address complex global problems amid growing skepticism about the benefits of multilateralism and continued global integration.

Continue reading “Global Cooperation—An Uphill Battle: Finance & Development magazine” »

By IMFBlog| August 30th, 2017|Advanced Economies, climate change, developing countries, Economic Crisis, Gender issues, health, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Migration, taxation, technology, trade, U.S., Uncategorized, youth|

Chart of the Week: House of Cards

By IMFBlog

August 21, 2017

House for sale: young adults in the UK, US, and Europe have experienced declining home ownership rates (photo: Chris Helgren/Reuters/Newscom).

In some countries, owning a home is a rite of passage: a symbol of a stable life and a sound investment.

However young adults in the United Kingdom, United States, and Europe have experienced declining home ownership rates. Continue reading “Chart of the Week: House of Cards” »

By IMFBlog| August 21st, 2017|Advanced Economies, banking, Economic research, Europe, housing|

Latest Outlook for The Americas: Back on Cruise Control, But Stuck in Low Gear

By Alejandro Werner

July 25, 2017

Versions in Español (Spanish), Português (Portuguese)

Shopping mall in Viña del Mar, Chile: Latin America is expected to recover gradually as most economies continue to face weak domestic demand (photo: Rodrigo Garrido/Newscom)

After disappointing growth over the past few years, economic activity in Latin America remains on track to recover gradually in 2017–18 as recessions in a few countries—notably Argentina and Brazil—are coming to an end. Our latest projections show the region growing by 1 percent in 2017 and 1.9 percent in 2018.

But amid low confidence, domestic demand continues to remain weak across most economies, and is expected to only recover slowly as actual output catches up to potential and internal sources of growth build strength, based on a decline in political and policy uncertainty across some major economies. Some countries in the region will need clear strategies to adjust further following a permanent loss in commodity revenues. Continue reading “Latest Outlook for The Americas: Back on Cruise Control, But Stuck in Low Gear” »

By IMFBlog| July 25th, 2017|capital flows, capital markets, Caribbean, commodities, Economic outlook, Economic research, education, Employment, Global Governance, Government, growth, inclusive growth, income, infrastructure, International Monetary Fund, labor markets, Latin America, Politics, productivity, structural reforms|

A Firming Recovery

By Maurice Obstfeld

July 24, 2017

Versions in عربي (Arabic), Bahasa (Indonesian), 中文 (Chinese), Français (French), 日本語 (Japanese), Русский (Russian), and Español (Spanish)

(photo: IMF)

The recovery in global growth that we projected in April is on a firmer footing; there is now no question mark over the world economy’s gain in momentum.

As in our April forecast, the World Economic Outlook Update projects 3.5 percent growth in global output for this year and 3.6 percent for next.

The distribution of this growth around the world has changed, however: compared with last April’s projection, some economies are up but others are down, offsetting those improvements. Continue reading “A Firming Recovery” »

By IMFBlog| July 23rd, 2017|banking, capital flows, China, climate change, developing countries, Economic outlook, Emerging Markets, Employment, Environment, Europe, Financial markets, Fiscal, Fiscal policy, Globalization, growth, IMF, income, Inequality, inflation, Investment, Japan, jobs, labor force, labor markets, Low-income countries, Public debt, trade, Uncategorized, unemployment, wages|

No Time to Stand Still: Strengthening Global Growth and Building Inclusive Economies

By Christine Lagarde

July 5, 2017

Versions in عربي (Arabic), 中文 (Chinese), Français (French), Deutsch (German), 日本語 (Japanese), Русский (Russian), and Español (Spanish)

The port of Hamburg, Germany: G20 leaders meet to discuss policies to strengthen the global economic recovery (photo: Markus Lange/robertharding/Newscom)

Nearly sixty years ago, a little-known band called the Beatles arrived in Hamburg, got a haircut, recorded their first song, and found their sound.

Taking a cue from the Fab Four, world leaders gathering for the Group of Twenty Summit this week can make the most of their time in Hamburg—and leave Germany with a sound plan to strengthen global growth.

Continue reading “No Time to Stand Still: Strengthening Global Growth and Building Inclusive Economies” »

By IMFBlog| July 5th, 2017|Advanced Economies, aging, Asia, developing countries, Economic outlook, Economic research, Emerging Markets, G-20, Global Governance, inclusive growth, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, jobs, technology, U.S.|

Categories