The continued recovery of the world economy resulted in unusually widespread growth in 2004, but a modest slowdown in all regions is expected in 2005, according to projections contained in the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2005. Developing countries grew at the fastest rate in two decades in 2004. In addition to the stimulus provided by the United States, China is making an increasing contribution to global economic growth. Its rapid expansion has contributed to increased global demand for oil and many non-oil commodities, with the higher prices for the latter being of particular benefit to several countries in Africa and Latin America. Overall, prospects continue to be good, but…
World Economic Situation and Prospects 2005
Many of the forces responsible for dramatic growth in the previous decade are now absent or not strong enough to produce such robust performance. While global trade is projected by the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2004 to grow by 7.0 per cent this year, it is unlikely that the buoyancy of pre-2000 years will be repeated, especially given setbacks in the Doha round of trade negotiations. The recovery of foreign direct investment will be similarly subdued, as will rebounding investment in information technologies. And in 2004, the dampening effects of geopolitical tensions and threats of international terrorism are more prevalent than in the years immediately before 2001.Therefore,…
World Economic Situation and Prospects 2004
Following some signs of stabilization at the end of 2002, global economic growth is expected to improve in 2003, but the strength, breadth and sustainability of the recovery remain subject to many uncertainties. Risks associated with heightened geopolitical tensions, such as the possibility of higher oil prices and lower business and consumer confidence, are the key threats to global economic recovery in the short run. In such a global economic environment, policymakers are facing prodigious challenges. Macroeconomic policy worldwide has been generally accommodative over the past year and has helped prevent the world economy from falling farther into a synchronized global downturn.
The…
World Economic Situation and Prospects 2003
A pervasive slowdown in the world economy, aggravated by the terrorist attacks in the United States of America, has led to the lowest growth of gross world product in a decade. Gross world production grew little more than 1 per cent in 2001 and the volume of world trade stagnated. More than a dozen economies, accounting for more than two thirds of world output and including the world's three largest economies, were falling into recession. For the year as a whole, growth in the developed countries was the lowest in a decade. The economies in transition exhibited greater resilience but their average growth also declined. The key concern of economic policymakers at the beginning of 2002 is to…
World Economic Situation and Prospects 2002
Economic growth in 2000 was unexpectedly and unusually high and widespread. The increase in gross world product exceeded the earlier forecast of 3.5 per cent and was the strongest in more than a decade. This outcome was the result of improvements in all major regions of the world and was associated with double-digit growth in the volume of international trade. The world economic recovery that started in 1999 reached its peak before the close of 2000 but is expected to continue until at least the end of 2001, albeit at a slightly slower pace. The outlook is for global economic growth to moderate from 4 per cent in 2000 to 3.5 per cent in 2001, with the slowdown limited in extent and…
World Economic Situation and Prospects 2001
At the beginning of 2000, the world economy was in better shape than the previous year, when the aftermath of the financial crises in Asia and the Russian Federation and the uncertainties relating to Brazil clouded the outlook. It is estimated that gross world product expanded by 2.6 per cent in 1999, a notable improvement over the 1.8 per cent for 1998 and 0.6 per cent higher than had been anticipated in mid-1999. The signs of strengthening and broadening of the recovery in the world economy identified in early 1999 have gained momentum. The outlook in major countries is for a slight acceleration to almost 3 per cent growth of gross world product in 2000 and a return to the pre-crisis pace…
World Economic Situation and Prospects 2000
The world economy is now growing at its slowest rate since early in the decade. The recession in Japan, the East Asian crisis and the Russian crisis ??along with contagion throughout the financial markets ??combined in 1998 to halve the growth rate of the world economy and to raise concerns about a global recession. At some points during the year there was fear of serious damage to major financial markets. Compared with the previous year, 23 fewer countries saw an increase in output per capita in 1998 and no significant improvement is expected in 1999. Moreover, world trade in 1998 grew at less than half the pace of 1997, and about the same growth rate is foreseen for 1999. International…
World Economic Situation and Prospects for 1999
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