The world economy is mired in the severest financial crisis since the Great Depression. WESP of 2006, 2007 and 2008 had already warned of the risks for this to happen. All factors analyzed in those reports have now played out and have pushed the world economy into recession. Growth in world gross product (WGP) is expected to slow to 1.0 per cent in 2009, a sharp deceleration from the rate of 2.5 per cent estimated for 2008 and well below… Read more

The World Economic and Social Survey 2008 examines how economic insecurity arises from the exposure of individuals, communities and countries to adverse events, and from their inability to cope with and recover from the downside losses. Local concerns have been compounded by new global threats as unregulated markets and climate change. The Survey offers a different approach with a strong “social contract”… Read more

Coming in the wake of global financial turmoil, the mid-year update of the World Economic Situation and Prospects forecasts a deeper downturn in the global economy in 2008. The report warns that in the absence of aggressive and coordinated expansionary policies a more severe contraction will occur, which could trigger a disorderly unwinding of the massive global imbalances and have drastic… Read more

This present report was prepared by the MDG Gap Task Force which was created to improve the monitoring of the MDG 8 by leveraging inter-agency coordination. The objective of the Report is to identify remaining obstacles to accelerate progress in the achieving the targets contained in MDG 8. It highlights the degree of compliance to the commitments made by developed and developing countries with a view… Read more

The World Economic Situation and Prospects 2008 argues that after several years of robust growth, the world economy is now facing some serious challenges in sustaining its brisk pace. According to the Report the end of the housing bubble in the United States, as well as the unfolding credit crisis, the decline of the United States dollar vis-a-vis other major currencies, the persistence… Read more