IMF update

Most Read Blogs of April The Global Economy: A Delicate Moment With this weakness expected to persist into the first half of 2019, our new World Economic Outlook (WEO) projects a slowdown in growth in 2019 for 70 percent of the world economy. Global growth softened to 3.6 percent in 2018 and is projected to decline further to 3.3 percent in 2019. The downward revision in growth of 0.2 percentage points for 2019 from the January projection is also broad based.  Tackling Corruption in Government No country is immune to corruption. The abuse of public office for private gain erodes people’s trust in government and institutions, makes public policies less effective and fair, and siphons taxpayers’ money away from schools, roads, and hospitals. Assessing the Risk of the Next Housing Bust There’s good news for people living in Las Vegas, Miami and Phoenix: the risk of a housing bust like the one they endured during the global financial crisis is fairly small. For folks in Toronto and Vancouver, however, the picture hasn’t improved since 2008, and the risk of a large decline in house prices remains elevated. High Debt Hampers Countries’ Response to a Fast-Changing Global Economy Economic growth is slowing and public debt remains high across the world. Everyone’s opportunities for a good education, along with their job prospects, healthcare, and retirement income depend on the tax and spending choices governments make as they respond to these challenges. What should policymakers do? Economic Forces, Not Tariffs, Drive Changes in Trade Balances New IMF research finds that macroeconomic factors, not tariffs, explain most of the changes in trade balances between two countries. Bilateral trade balances (the difference in the value of exports and imports between two countries) have come under scrutiny recently.