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OECD Economic Outlook
Report

OECD Economic Outlook

May 2014

OECD, 2014 more...

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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Comprehensive
  • Scientific
  • Overview

Recommendation

The 2008 financial crisis forever changed the trajectory of economic expansion, both globally and among individual nations. Since then, a nascent recovery has brought growth back in some parts of the world, while progress has eluded others. In the future, countries will need to take prudent economic steps and make necessary reforms to remain competitive. This twice-yearly overview of global economic trends and statistics is a useful guide to world economies, although its organization and readability could use some improvement. getAbstract recommends it to economists, journalists, academics and others interested in indicative economic statistics and trends, both globally and within specific countries.

Summary

Economic Recovery

The embryonic global recovery is likely to continue, although the path to progress will be uneven. Growth should fall just shy of 3.5% globally for 2014 and will ramp up slightly in 2015 to almost 4%. The unemployment rate for countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) will marginally decline to 7.1% by the end of 2015, which should tamp down inflation. The decent pace of economic recovery in the US warrants a slow withdrawal of monetary stimulus measures through 2014 and 2015, while Japan and the euro zone, which are lagging behind, will probably need to keep such measures in place longer.

Emerging market economies require a different approach. For example, in China, policies that encourage domestic consumption while trying to avoid financial jolts – such as moderating credit expansion and limiting local government spending – make sense. Several developing economies face slower growth. In China, such concerns have played a major role in driving down equity prices and raising government bond yields. The ballooning size of the country’s commercial banking sector adds to those worries, as does the rise of a shadow...

About the Author

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international forum of 34 nations that promotes global economic advancement and trade.