OECD: World Is Still Locked in a ‘Low-Growth Trap’ with Rising Inequality

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) just released its latest economic outlook which it sums up as ‘better but not good enough,’ noting that, since the financial crisis of 2008, global growth remains ‘below past norms and below the pace needed to escape fully from the low-growth trap.’ Projecting a modest pickup in global growth to 3.5 percent this year, the authors write:
‘After many years of weak recovery, with global growth in 2016 at the lowest rate since 2009, some signs of improvement have begun to appear. Trade and manufacturing output growth have picked up from a very low level, helped by firmer domestic demand growth in Asia and Europe, and private sector confidence has strengthened. But policy uncertainty remains high, trust in government has diminished, wage growth is still weak, inequality persists, and imbalances and vulnerabilities remain in financial markets. Against this background, a modest pick-up in global GDP growth is projected this year to 3 per cent, with an upturn in trade and investment intensity and improving outcomes in several major commodity producers.’
The OECD’s outlook for the United States is GDP of 2.1 percent in 2017 with an uptick to 2.4 percent in 2018. That compares with OECD projected growth in the Euro area of 1.8 percent in both 2017 and 2018 while Japan is expected to grow at 1.4 and 1.0 percent, respectively, in 2017 and 2018.

This post was published at Wall Street On Parade By Pam Martens and Russ Marte.