A live chat will be held on Facebook following the multi-city launches this week of the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2012. Join Rob Vos, Director of DESA’s Development Policy and Analysis Division and his group of experts on 20 January from 9:00 am to 10:00 am EST at http://on.fb.me/wesp2012 and find out what’s in store for the world economy in 2012 and beyond.

The Development Policy and Analysis Division (DPAD) is organizing this live chat to answer queries concerning the risks and opportunities for the world economy, as well as the scope for policy action in the year ahead. Some of the questions might focus on the following issues:

• Weak Governments and vulnerable banks: Are developed economies ripe for a new recession? 
• Should Europe give up on the euro?
• Will fiscal austerity pave the way out of the crisis or lead to a new recession?
• How will growth in Brazil, the Russian Federation, India and China (BRICs) affect the rest of the world?
• Are emerging markets strong enough to act as the engine of global economic growth?
• What are the short- and long-term economic consequences of the Arab Spring?

The chat will be led by Rob Vos and include the following panel of economists from DPAD’s Global Economic Monitoring Unit:

Grigor Agabekian on the Commonwealth of Independent States
Clive Altshuler on Europe
Jeronim Capaldo on Latin America and the Caribbean
Matthias Kempf and John Winkel on Africa
Pierre Kohler on Western Asia
Ingo Pitterle on East and South Asia

Event details

When: Friday, 20 January 2012 at 9:00 am to 10:00 am EST
Where: http://on.fb.me/wesp2012
How to join: Submit your question on Facebook at http://on.fb.me/wesp2012 or on Twitter to @UNDESA using #WESP2012