Diverging inflation rates suggest new risks
Global inflation trends
While an increasing number of countries are reopening their economies during the COVID-19 pandemic, the prospects of the world economy remain highly uncertain. One of the many uncertainties that the world economy is facing is the prospect of consumer prices.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world economy, the global average trend pointed to a historically low level of consumer inflation (figure 1). The converging unweighted and GDP-weighted world average inflation rates implies the trend was observed not only in high-income countries. Several factors contributed to this trend. First, the supply capacity for consumers…
World Economic Situation And Prospects: July 2020 Briefing, No. 139
The pandemic hits emerging economies
Emerging economies are facing an unprecedented health and economic crisis. The synchronous collapse in global demand and the widespread disruptions in supply chains are inflicting severe economic pain through trade, financial and commodity prices channels. To contain the pandemic, emerging economies have imposed, to varying degrees, lockdowns and social distancing measures, further disrupting economic activity. India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, the Russian Federation and South Africa have implemented full or partial lockdowns. But even as countries have followed different approaches to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, enforcement has in many cases been…
World Economic Situation And Prospects: June 2020 Briefing, No. 138
The pandemic crisis will worsen global inequality
The COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc on the global eco??nomy, unleashing the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. Since the April 2020 Monthly Briefing on the World Economic Situation and Prospects, the global death toll of the pandemic has increased by more than 330 per cent, while the number of confirmed cases rose by over 210 per cent. COVID-19 is now the most severe health crisis since the Spanish Flu of 1918. The epicenter of the pandemic shifted from Europe to the United States during the past month, with the latter now accounting for nearly one third of confirmed cases and a quarter of the death toll globally. The…
World Economic Situation And Prospects: May 2020 Briefing, No. 137
COVID-19: Disrupting lives, economies and societies
A raging pandemic?unleashed by a highly contagious COVID-19 virus?has triggered unprecedented restrictions not only on the movement of people but also on a range of economic activities, and the declaration of national emergencies in most countries in Europe and North America. Growing demand for urgent healthcare and rising death tolls are straining national healthcare systems. The pandemic is disrupting global supply chains and international trade. With nearly 100 countries closing national borders during the past month, the movement of people and tourism flows have come to a screeching halt. Millions of workers in these countries are…
World Economic Situation And Prospects: April 2020 Briefing, No. 136
Gender gaps remain pervasive worldwide, constraining economic potential
Most countries are not on track to achieve the SDG target 8.5 ?equal pay for work of equal value? by 2030
Eliminating gender inequalities requires legal reforms, financial incentives and shifts in societal attitudes
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Global issue: Economic inequalities along gender lines remain pervasive
Despite considerable progress over the last decades, significant gender gaps persist with respect to access to labour markets, working conditions, wages, economic security, access to finance and many other areas. Across the globe, gender stereotypes and biases remain deeply entrenched. Unequal economic…
World Economic Situation And Prospects: March 2020 Briefing, No. 135
According to the WESP 2020, sluggish global growth threatens sustainable development
1 in 5 countries will see per capita incomes stagnate or decline this year, notably in Africa, Latin America and parts of Western Asia
Across the world, many policies continue to encourage the use of fossil fuels
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Global issues: World Economic Situation and Prospects 2020 warns that weaker growth threatens to set back sustainable development
The World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2020, launched at UN Headquarters in New York on 16 January, notes that the global economy slowed to a decade-low last year, largely as a result of prolonged trade disputes and high policy…
World Economic Situation And Prospects: February 2020 Briefing, No. 134
As energy demand is rising globally, it is imperative to transition to clean energy
The status of natural gas as a ?transition fuel? is waning
The automotive sector in Europe is undergoing dramatic changes
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Global issues: Transitioning to clean energies in a world of rising energy demand
As climate researchers, business leaders, activists and policymakers meet this month for the 25th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 25) to the UNFCCC1, the planet will be 1?C (1.8?F) warmer than preindustrial levels and the level of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere will have surpassed levels last seen hundreds of thousands of years ago. They will also know that…
World Economic Situation And Prospects: December 2019 Briefing, No. 133
Lack of innovation a key structural challenge for many developing countries
Economic diversification impeded by structural barriers in the CIS and Africa
Weak productivity growth contributing to bleak economic outlook in Latin America
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Global issues: The challenge of innovation in developing countries
The economic situation in many developing countries has deteriorated considerably in recent years. Between 2010 and 2014, aggregate GDP expanded at an average pace of 6.0 per cent, but growth slowed to an average of 4.2 per cent between 2015 and 2018. The slowdown in growth has been particularly pronounced in Africa, Latin America and Western Asia. In 2019, average GDP…
World Economic Situation And Prospects: November 2019 Briefing, No. 132
The global commodity price shock of 2014-2016 has caused setbacks in the fight against poverty
Poverty eradication in Africa by 2030 is increasingly becoming out of reach
The humanitarian crisis in Yemen is exacerbating the poverty situation
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Global issue: The legacy of?the global commodity price shock: Long-term output losses and poverty setbacks
The recently released Sustainable Development Goals Report 2019(1) paints a mixed picture of global progress on extreme poverty eradication. On the one hand, global poverty rates, measured as the proportion of people living below the $1.90 a day international poverty line, have continued to decline.(2) In 2018, an estimated…
World Economic Situation And Prospects: October 2019 Briefing, No. 131
Prolonged trade tensions exacerbating the cyclical slowdown in the global economy
Global automobile production contracts amid higher tariffs and policy uncertainty
Further easing of macroeconomic policies as external headwinds to growth rise
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Global issue: Trade conflict a threat to global growth
Trade tensions between China and the United States re-escalated in August, following the announcement by the United States that it will impose tariffs on a further $300 billion of Chinese imports. In retaliation, China introduced additional tariffs on $75 billion of imports from the United States. These developments triggered sharp movements in global equity markets, a…
World Economic Situation And Prospects: September 2019 Briefing, No. 130
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