World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects, June 2023

The world economy still “in a precarious state”. The comprehensive analysis, written by the team headed by Ayhan Kose, is here.

After growing 3.1 percent last year, the global economy is set to slow substantially in 2023, to 2.1 percent, amid continued monetary policy tightening to rein in high inflation, before a tepid recovery in 2024, to 2.4 percent. Tight global financial conditions and subdued external demand are expected to weigh on growth across emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs). Inflation has been persistent but is projected to decline gradually as demand weakens and commodity prices moderate, provided longer-term inflation expectations remain anchored. Global growth could be weaker than anticipated in the event of more widespread banking sector stress, or if more persistent inflation pressures prompt tighter-than-expected monetary policy. Weak growth prospects and heightened risks in the near term compound a long-term slowdown in potential growth. This difficult context highlights a multitude of policy challenges. Recent bank failures call for a renewed focus on global financial regulatory reform. Global cooperation is also necessary to accelerate the clean energy transition, mitigate climate change, and provide debt relief for the rising number of countries experiencing debt distress. At the national level, it is imperative to implement credible policies to contain inflation and ensure macroeconomic and financial stability, as well as undertake reforms to set the foundations for a robust, sustainable, and inclusive development path.

One particularly interesting chapter examines spillovers of US monetary policy and interest rates to the rest-of-the-world (written by Carlos Arteta, Steve Kamin, and Franz Ulrich Ruch).

The rapid rise in interest rates in the United States poses a significant challenge to emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs). As the Federal Reserve has pivoted toward a more hawkish stance to rein in inflation, a substantial part of the sharp increases in U.S. interest rates since early 2022 has been driven by shocks that capture changes in perceptions of the Fed’s reaction function. These reaction shocks are associated with especially adverse financial market effects in EMDEs, including a higher likelihood of experiencing a financial crisis. Their effects also appear to be more pronounced in EMDEs with greater economic vulnerabilities. These findings suggest that major central banks can alleviate adverse spillovers through proper communication that clarifies their reaction functions. They also highlight that EMDEs need to adjust macroeconomic and financial policies to mitigate the negative impact of rising global and U.S. interest rates.

A key figure, showing how different shocks have different implications for EMDEs, is shown below.

The entire report is here.

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