World Economic Outlook

Restarting the Growth Engine in Sub-Saharan Africa

May 19, 2017

Version in Français (French)

The IMF’s latest economic health check of sub-Saharan Africa shows that growth fell to its lowest level in 20 years.

In this podcast, the IMF African Department’s Celine Allard, who oversaw the report, says that this drop brought a halt to the 5 to 6 percent growth rate that was enjoyed in the last two decades. Some factors contributing to this slowdown are lower commodity prices, the devastation of a severe drought—exacerbating crop infestation and leading to a famine affecting some 20 million people—and political conflicts that affect trade.

Continue reading “Restarting the Growth Engine in Sub-Saharan Africa” »

By IMFBlog| May 19th, 2017|Africa, Economic research, exchange rates, financial policy, Fiscal policy, Government, IMF, monetary policy, Public debt, structural reforms, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Chart of the Week: Conflict’s Legacy for Growth

By IMFBlog

Versions in عربي (Arabic)

May 8, 2017

Conflict has been on the rise since the early 2000s given the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.

Conflict leads not only to immeasurable human costs, but also to substantial economic losses with consequences that can persist for years. The tragic rise in conflict has weighed on global GDP growth in recent years, given the increasing number of countries experiencing strife, the severe effect on economic activity, and the considerable size of some of the affected economies.

The IMF’s most recent World Economic Outlook (Box 1.1) takes a closer look through the lens of conflict’s impact on economic growth and migration. Continue reading “Chart of the Week: Conflict’s Legacy for Growth” »

By IMFBlog| May 8th, 2017|corruption, developing countries, Economic Crisis, Economic outlook, Economic research, education, Employment, Government, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, Investment, jobs, labor force, labor markets, Middle East, Migration, Politics, productivity, refugees|0 Comments

Chart of the Week: Inequality and the Decline in Labor Share of Income

By IMFBlog

As discussed in the IMF’s G20 Note, and a blog last week by IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, a forthcoming chapter of the World Economic Outlook seeks to understand the decline in the labor share of income (that is, the share of national income paid in wages, including benefits, to workers) in many countries around the world. These downward trends can have potentially large and complex social implications, including a rise in income inequality. Continue reading “Chart of the Week: Inequality and the Decline in Labor Share of Income” »

By IMFBlog| March 20th, 2017|Advanced Economies, Economic outlook, income, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, labor force, Uncategorized|0 Comments

A Shifting Global Economic Landscape: Update to the World Economic Outlook

maury-obstfeld-blogsize-final2 By Maurice Obstfeld

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

Today we released our update to the World Economic Outlook.

An accumulation of recent data suggests that the global economic landscape started to shift in the second half of 2016. Developments since last summer indicate somewhat greater growth momentum coming into the new year in a number of important economies. Our earlier projection, that world growth will pick up from last year’s lackluster pace in 2017 and 2018, therefore looks increasingly likely to be realized. At the same time, we see a wider dispersion of risks to this short-term forecast, with those risks still tilted to the downside. Uncertainty has risen. Continue reading “A Shifting Global Economic Landscape: Update to the World Economic Outlook” »

By IMFBlog| January 16th, 2017|Economic outlook, Economic research, Financial markets, growth, IMF, International Monetary Fund, labor force, U.S.|0 Comments

Commodity Commotion

By iMFdirect

Terms of trade is the price of a country’s exports relative to its imports. The commodity terms of trade refers to a country’s commodity exports relative to its commodity imports.

When the price of commodities, like oil, plummeted in 2015, economies that rely on exporting commodities had their terms of trade drop by an average of about 10 percent of GDP that year. Economies that rely more on importing commodities saw about a 2 percent of GDP benefit from the 2015 drop in prices. Continue reading “Commodity Commotion” »

By IMFBlog| December 21st, 2016|commodities, Economic research, IMF, International Monetary Fund, U.S.|0 Comments

Infrastructure Done Right

By iMFdirect

In the face of crumbling bridges and super-low interest rates, many countries are talking and planning to increase spending on infrastructure. And it’s not just about more spending; it’s about smart spending. This is something that the IMF has urged countries to consider for several years, starting with our Fall 2014 World Economic Outlook. Continue reading “Infrastructure Done Right” »

By IMFBlog| December 13th, 2016|growth, International Monetary Fund, Investment, productivity, U.S.|0 Comments

The World Economy: Moving Sideways

maury-obstfeld-weo_220x150 By Maurice Obstfeld

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

A return to the strong, sustainable, balanced, and inclusive growth that Group of Twenty leaders called for at Hangzhou in September still eludes us. Global growth remains weak, even though it shows no noticeable deceleration over the last quarter. The new World Economic Outlook sees a slowdown for the group of advanced economies in 2016 and an offsetting pickup for emerging and developing economies. Taken as a whole, the world economy has moved sideways. Without determined policy action to support economic activity over the short and longer terms, sub-par growth at recent levels risks perpetuating itself—through the negative economic and political forces it is unleashing.

Continue reading “The World Economy: Moving Sideways” »

By IMFBlog| October 4th, 2016|Advanced Economies, Africa, Annual Meetings, Economic outlook, Economic research, Emerging Markets, Financial markets, growth, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Tariffs Do More Harm Than Good at Home

By Maurice Obstfeld

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

A longstanding challenge for the global economy is the possibility that some countries compete for export markets through artificially low prices. Political leaders and pundits sometimes propose import tariffs to offset the supposed price advantages and exert pressure for policy changes abroad. What proponents often fail to realize is that such tariff policies, while certainly hurting their targets, can also be very costly at home. And surprisingly, the self-inflicted harm can be substantial even when trade partners do not retaliate with tariffs of their own. Continue reading “Tariffs Do More Harm Than Good at Home” »

By IMFBlog| September 8th, 2016|Advanced Economies, Asia, Economic outlook, Employment, IMF, International Monetary Fund, U.S., Uncategorized|0 Comments

A Spanner in the Works: An Update to the World Economic Outlook

21970901656_57e69fe1e3_z By Maurice Obstfeld

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

The United Kingdom’s June 23 vote to leave the European Union adds downward pressure to the world economy at a time when growth has been slow amid an array of remaining downside risks. The first half of 2016 revealed some promising signs—for example, stronger than expected growth in the euro area and Japan, as well as a partial recovery in commodity prices that helped several emerging and developing economies. As of June 22, we were therefore prepared to upgrade our 2016-17 global growth projections slightly. But Brexit has thrown a spanner in the works.

Continue reading “A Spanner in the Works: An Update to the World Economic Outlook” »

By IMFBlog| July 19th, 2016|Advanced Economies, Economic outlook, Economic research, Europe, International Monetary Fund, Uncategorized|0 Comments

Unemployment: Troubles Ahead for Emerging Markets

By Prakash Loungani and Zidong An

Version in Español (Spanish)

Forecasts of real GDP growth attract a lot of media attention. But what matters more to the person on the street is how growth translates into jobs. Unfortunately, the mediocre growth outlook of recent years may lead to a disturbing outlook for jobs, particularly among fuel-exporting countries and in the Latin America and Caribbean region.

Continue reading “Unemployment: Troubles Ahead for Emerging Markets” »

By IMFBlog| May 3rd, 2016|Advanced Economies, developing countries, Emerging Markets, euro zone, Inequality, International Monetary Fund, U.S.|0 Comments

Load More Posts

Categories