Global Monitoring Report 2008

World Bank IMF
IMF’s Global economic prospects for 2009 (.pdf)

April 11
Climate Change Rises On World Bank Agenda
(Reuters Planet Ark) WASHINGTON – Climate change is now one of the World Bank’s top concerns because of its expected impact on health and economic growth in developing countries, the bank’s lead environmental economist said.
Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia are where global warming’s damage will disproportionately be felt, and that makes it a key issue for the World Bank and other financial institutions aiming to foster development, said Kirk Hamilton, co-author of the Global Monitoring Report.
Western Hemisphere growth hampered by U.S.: IMF
U.S. economic growth is expected to be an anemic 0.5 percent in 2008, rising to just 0.6 percent next year, according to IMF estimates, as fiscal and monetary stimulus plans begin to bear fruit and bank balance sheets are cleaned up from the subprime mortgage-related losses.
Canada’s economy is projected to grow 1.3 percent this year, less than half the rate of growth in 2007. Growth is expected to rebound to 1.9 percent in 2009.
April 9
Europe & US facing sharp slowdown – World Bank
The World Bank today released figures, due to be published later in the day by the International Monetary Fund, showing a sharp slowdown in US and European economic growth.
In its Global Monitoring Report, the World Bank cited IMF figures showing that global growth will fall to 3.7% this year after 4.9% in 2007, and then inch up to 3.8% in 2009.
For the euro zone, growth will slow sharply to 1.4% and 1.2% after 2.6% in 2007. The US will slump to 0.5% and 0.6% after 2.7% in 2007 while Britain will likely grow 1.6% this year and next, compared with 3.1% last year.
In Japan, growth will slow to 1.4% and 1.5% this year and next from 2.1% in 2007.
The World Bank did not give figures for other countries but by region, it put African growth at 6.3% and 6.4%, in line with 6.3% in 2007, while central and eastern Europe came to 4.4% and 4.3%, down from 5.7% in 2007.
Emerging Asia was put at 8.2% this year and 8.4% next, down from 9.7% in 2007, with the Middle East on 6.1% for both years, up from 5.8% last year.
For the developing countries as a whole, the World Bank forecast growth of 6.7% and 6.6%, down from 7.9% last year.
‘Tax cuts on farm inputs may help deal with price rise’
New Delhi: Amidst the government’s all-out effort to control price hike, the author of a World Bank report has said that the better way for developing countries to deal with the rising global commodity prices is to cut taxes on agriculture inputs.
The World Bank’s ‘Global Monitoring Report 2008’ has warned that “India is likely to face large agricultural productivity losses in the face of climate change, and will require an examination of adaptive agriculture programmes”.
April 8, 2008 — A new World Bank-IMF report warns that most countries will fall short on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a set of eight globally agreed development goals with a due date of 2015.
Though much of the world is set to cut extreme poverty in half by then, prospects are gravest for the goals of reducing child and maternal mortality. Serious shortfalls also likely in primary school completion, nutrition, and sanitation goals.
The report also stresses the link between environment and development and calls for urgent action on climate change. To build on hard-won gains, developing countries need support to address the links between growth, development and environmental sustainability. Overview