With a threat of recession or economic slowdownhigh inflation and a war as a backdrop, began the 2023 edition of the World Economic Forum (WEF), the annual event that brings together the world’s elites.
(See: Business leaders speak out: there will be a global recession in 2023).
Precisely, at this juncture, the main motto of the annual event is related to avoiding further erosion of multilateral cooperation.
“It is critical to find meaningful solutions to address the overlapping crises of global energy and food resources, as well as the weak economic outlook,” the organization reported. On the first day of the global meeting, the WEF released a survey on the macroeconomic outlook by select chief economists from around the world. “Although there are some reasons for optimism, such as the slowdown in inflationary pressures, many aspects of the outlook remain bleak.”, the document noted.
(See: The global economy is on the verge of a recession.)
Also, policy makerscontinue to face headwinds”, while households and businesses “will have to adapt to constant headwinds throughout the year 2023”, specified the report of the economic organization.
At least two-thirds of the chief economists surveyed considered that a global recession it is probable in 2023, including 16% which says it’s likely, which is double the previous result from last September.
(See: Dollar in the volatility scenario, what’s next for the currency?).
However, on the other hand, a third also believe that a global recession is not possible this year.
Thus, when segmenting by regions, 68% of respondents considers that Latin America will have a weak growth of the gross domestic product (GDP), while 32%, more optimistically, expect growth to be moderate. None of the experts opted for any other option.
At the same time, in advanced economies, such as United States and Europeexperts favor weak growth options, while in the case of Chinese 38% expect moderate progress.
Regarding inflation, economists anticipate uneven behavior for different geographies, while expecting that monetary policy is maintained for a good part of the year in the main economies.
“A range of factors have contributed to slowing inflation curves, including, among these, a stabilization of prices”.
Regarding the cost of living, 55% of those surveyed expect that inflation will moderate in 2023 in the region of Latin America and the Caribbean; while on the contrary, 45% of the experts consider that it will remain high.
(See: The 10 Richest Countries in the World: Is the US Still Leading?).
In Europe, 43% expect it to moderate; 76% consider the same for the United States; while 48% estimate that it will remain low in China and 11% believe that this will be the same scenario in Central Asia.
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