Global coordination still needed as economy recovers
OTTAWA, April 21 /CNW Telbec/ - The world's leading economies should continue to strengthen global cooperation, through institutions such as the G20, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, even as the recession ends and the impact of the financial crisis wanes, The Conference Board of Canada argues in a report released today.
"As we have witnessed over the past year and a half, global economic cooperation should increase during times of crisis. The financial crisis breathed renewed life into the roles of the IMF and World Bank, and made the G20 group into a forum for global leadership," said Glen Hodgson, Senior Vice-President and Chief Economist. "That said, there is now a risk that financial stability and global economic growth will remove the urgency to strengthen economic cooperation and allow a return to complacency."
The sustainability of the G20 will be tested as the impact of the current stimulus starts to wane and each country makes its own plans for restoring more normal monetary and fiscal conditions. Even modest sustained global growth could relieve pressure for cooperation and allow a return to less coordinated policies and practices.
The challenge going forward will be to keep building the effectiveness and credibility of the G20 as an institution, and to rebalance the governance of the IMF, World Bank, and other organizations to reflect the shift in influence to emerging economies.
The report, Lessons From the Recession and Financial Crisis: Lesson 6-Global Coordination Was Critical To A Speedy Recovery, is part of the Conference Board's ongoing series. The Conference Board's Forecasting and Analysis team has examined the developments of the past year and a half, and has drawn key lessons for the world and for Canada that deserve priority discussion among policy makers and business leaders.
For further information: Brent Dowdall, Media Relations, Tel.: (613) 526-3090 ext. 448, E-mail: [email protected]
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