Chief Economist says financial crisis has 'left a scar'

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The global financial crisis may be easing, but it is far from over, according to the World Bank’s chief economist.  The World Bank is holding its annual meetings in Istanbul, Turkey, and those meetings prompted an assessment of the global economy from Justin Lin.

Lin is the World Bank’s chief economist, and he says the situation may be improving, but the financial crisis of 2008-2009 “has left a scar”.  He warns that it will be years before developing economies bounce back.

 

 

Lin, meeting with other leading economists at the Council of Chief Economists Roundtable in Turkey, reminded them that the world needs to be ready for the challenge of fixing the damage left by the crisis.

For example, Lin says, the residue from the financial crisis will be apparent for years, with unemployment high and consumption low. He says that India will bounce back with an 8 percent growth rate, but the country was roaring along at 10 percent before the crisis. Ethiopia, he says, will come back at 7 to five percent, and but it was showing what he called “high” rates of growth of 11 percent before last fall.

Along with Justin Lin from the World Bank, the Council of Chief Economists Roundtable also featured statements from Eric Berglof from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Stephan Cecchetti from the Bank for International Settlements, Ali Ifzali from the Islamic Development Bank, Louis Kasekende from the African Development Bank, and Jong-Wha Lee from the Asian Development Bank. The topic of discussion for the roundtable was "Scenarios for Global and Regional Economic Recovery and Growth."

 

Authors

Alison Schafer

Communications expert