State of the global economy: Are the clouds clearing at last?

The direst outcomes have so far been avoided. Despite the biggest surge in global interest rates in 40 years, the global economy appears to have escaped a much-feared recession or stagflation. Inflation was cut in half without the usual pain of high unemployment. Many economies proved to be surprisingly resilient. Yet, more than four years after the upheavals of the COVID-19 pandemic, it remains unclear whether the world—and developing economies, in particular—is back on a reliable path to prosperity. Trade disputes are intensifying. Armed conflict is on the rise. Inflation remains above central-bank targets in much of the world. Sovereign debt burdens remain elevated.

What should we expect in the next year or two—and beyond? What can policymakers do to restore the remarkable progress the world achieved in the three decades before COVID-19? The June 2024 edition of the World Bank’s Global Economic Prospects report will provide key insights on these and other central questions to economic development, including the interplay between public and private investment.

On Thursday, June 20, the Brookings Institution’s Global Economy and Development program convened a panel of experts to discuss the state of the global economy and their views on the path ahead. This event featured introductory remarks by Brahima S. Coulibaly, vice president of the Global Economy and Development program, and was followed by a presentation on the findings of the World Bank Group’s latest Global Economic Prospects report. Robin Brooks, senior fellow of the Global Economy and Development program, then moderated a panel discussion among diverse leading experts on the global economy.

The audience submitted questions by emailing [email protected] and via Twitter using the hashtag #GlobalEconomy.