|
|
Dr.
KHALIL HAMDANI is the MaximsNews Senior International Editor for
Economic Development and is currently based in Geneva. He is the former Director
of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development's (UNCTAD)
Division on Investment, Technology and Enterprise Development.
Contact:
KhalilHamdani@MaximsNews.com
|
UN:
U.S.
DRAG ON WORLD ECONOMY
by KHALIL HAMDANI:
12/01/08 (MaximsNews Network)
UNITED
NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network / - 12
January 2007 -- The
latest UN global outlook sees economic downturn in the US as the major drag on
the world economy in 2008, lowering world GDP growth by 8 per cent or, in the
worst scenario, by 50 per cent.
“Developing
countries will also be very much affected by this likely slowdown in the US,”
said UN Assistant Secretary-General Jomo Kwame Sundaram, speaking at the launch
of the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2008, an annual report issued by
the Department of Economic and Social Affairs, jointly with the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Organization’s regional
commissions.
The
UN forecasts world economic growth to slow to 3.4 per cent in 2008, compared to
3.7 per cent last year and 3.9 per cent the year before.
However,
if the
US
goes into recession and the dollar sharply depreciates further, then the world
economy would grow by only 1.6 per cent in 2008.
In
either scenario, developing economies would continue to grow by more than 4 per
cent, although much less than the 7 per cent growth achieved in 2007.
African
economies are forecast to grow by as much as 6 per cent in 2008, sustaining the
good performance of recent years which has been the best in several decades.
In
Asia, developing countries are expected to grow at 7.8 per cent in 2008, which
compares well with the 8.2 per cent rate recorded in 2007.
In
recent years, developing countries have been an engine of growth for world
trade, investment and GDP.
“Overall,
102 countries out of 160 have grown in per capita terms more than 3 per cent in
the last year, which was an extraordinary achievement,” said Heiner Flassbeck,
Director of UNCTAD’s Division on Globalization and Development Strategies.
This
golden era could come to end in 2008, as all countries will be affected to some
degree by the looming downturn in the
US
economy, and while many may ride out the slump they will not be able to offset
it.
“Policymakers
in developed and developing countries are faced with the challenge of how to
avoid a global recession and safeguard robust economic development amidst risks
of further financial turmoil and a weakening dollar,”
states
the UN report. (See: http://www.un.org/esa/policy/wess/wesp2008files/wesp2008.pdf).
Labels:
United
Nations, U.N. Khalil
Hamdani, Economic
Development, UNCTAD,
United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development
~~~~~
MaximsNews.com, An Independent Voice from the
U.N., provides commentary and analysis from
leading world figures: King Abdullah II
(Jordan), HRH Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein
(Jordan), Sir Brian Urquhart, Hans Blix, Amb.
Richard Holbrooke, Anwar Ibrahim, Bianca Jagger,
Dr. Nafis Sadik, Shashi Tharoor, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Noeleen Heyzer,
Masood Haider, Kerry
Kennedy, Ian Williams, Stephen Schlesinger, Sen.
Timothy E. Wirth, Marc Morial, Amb. Jayantha
Dhanapala (Sri Lanka), Amb. Pierre Schori
(Sweden), Amb. William H. Luers, Susan Roosevelt
Weld, Rory Kennedy, Mehri
Madarshahi, Hazel Henderson, Donald Wheeler,
Khalil Handani, J. Michael Adams, Gloria Feldt,
Jeffrey Laurenti, Ashley
Bommer, Rory
O'Connor, Genevieve Stamper, Max Stamper and
others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MaximsNews®
LLC
NEWS NETWORK FOR THE
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
MaximsNews Network® LLC is a Global News Network reaching over 30,000 in the International Community. It is associated with MediaChannel.org and Globalvision News Network, global news and media information services with more than 350 news affiliates in 135 countries.
Established in 1999.
The views expressed are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of MaximsNews®
LLC.
MaximsNews.com
U.N. ® LLC www.MaximsNews.com
| MaximsNews@MaximsNews.com |
Please
contact us about Republishing:
Syndication@MaximsNews.com ©Copyrights 1999 - 2007, MaximsNews® LLC. All rights
reserved.
|
