IMF President, Christine Lagarde.
The
International Monetary Fund left its global economic forecasts Tuesday
at 3.1-per-cent growth this year and 3.4 per cent in 2017, both
unchanged from the previous update in July.
But
the Washington-based crisis lender warned against the populist,
inward-looking policies now tempting voters in many of the world's
advanced economies.
The
resulting political uncertainty, in areas such as trade policy and
redistribution schemes, is hindering business investment and near-term
economic activity.
"The
Brexit vote and the ongoing US presidential election campaign have
highlighted a fraying consensus about the benefits of cross-border
economic integration," the IMF said in its World Economic Outlook.
"Concerns
about the impact of foreign competition on jobs and wages in a context
of weak growth have enhanced the appeal of protectionist policy
approaches, with potential ramifications for global trade flows and
integration more broadly."
British
Prime Minister Theresa May said Sunday that her government would begin
negotiations in March 2017 to quit the European Union, after the June
Brexit referendum.
In
the United States, both major-party presidential candidates oppose the
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a trade deal to be considered late this
year in Congress, and have called for the 22-year-old North American
Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico to be scrapped or
renegotiated.
Meanwhile,
prospects for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership
(TTIP), still in negotiation between the US and the European Union,
appear dim in the face of opposition from politicians in Europe.
The
IMF forecast growth in advanced economies of about 1.7 per cent in
2016-17, while emerging markets and developing economies are around 4.4
per cent as a group.
The
biggest change in the World Economic Outlook was for the United States,
where the IMF slashed its 2016 growth forecast by 0.6 percentage points
to 1.6 per cent, after a disappointing first half blamed in part on weak
business investment.
In
contrast, the projection for Japan was raised in light of fiscal and
monetary stimulus, but the country's growth prospects remain tepid. The
IMF hiked its 2016 forecast from 0.3 to 0.5 per cent, and for next year
from 0.1 to 0.6 per cent.
The
IMF predicted eurozone growth to remain around 1.6 per cent for 2016-17;
the forecast for Germany has strengthened since July while expectations
were cut for France and Italy.
China's gradual slowdown is slated to continue, with growth declining from 6.6 per cent this year to 6.2 per cent in 2017.
The IMF slightly raised its forecast for India - now the world's fastest-growing major economy - to 7.6 per cent for 2016-17.
In a statement, IMF chief economist Maurice Obstfeld said that the global economic recovery remains "weak and precarious."
Particularly
in rich countries, persistently slow growth has become the norm since
the 2008 global financial crisis, despite significant government
stimulus measures and accommodative monetary policy at or near record
levels.
"Tepid
growth risks becoming self-perpetuating as investment falls,
productivity growth declines, labour markets become less dynamic and
human capital erodes," Obstfeld said.
The
slow growth has helped fuel political tensions "that block constructive
economic reforms and threaten a rollback of trade integration," he said.
Obstfeld
described monetary policy as "overstretched" already, and encouraged
fiscal stimulus where government budgets allow, along with "essential"
structural reforms.
"It is vitally important to defend the prospects for increasing trade integration," he said.
"A
global environment hostile to trade will ... broadly deter global
productivity growth, the spread of knowledge and technology, and
investment. In short, turning back the clock on trade can only deepen
and prolong the world economy's current doldrums.
Read more at http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/news/general/how-i-shared-n680m-to-katsina-service-chiefs-shema-s-aide/165221.html#rucx2R7VrrK1jBOl.99
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