This blog analyses the consequences of an energy shock on global growth. It puts the current rise in energy prices into historical context, presents model-based estimates of its growth impacts,…

The World Bank’s latest forecasts, published today, reflect a sizable downgrade to the outlook: global growth is expected to slow sharply from 5.7 percent in 2021 to 2.9 percent this year.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has not only caused an enormous humanitarian catastrophe, but an economic shock as well. This blog presents five charts that convey how the war is hastening an…

Weak recoveries in emerging market and developing economies (EMDEs) are expected to raise between-country inequality. Within-country income inequality is also estimated to have increased somewhat…

Global debt levels surged in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. A rise in debt has led to several countries initiating debt restructuring, while many others are in or at high risk of debt…

The GEP analysis presents three broad and worrisome trends: income inequality across countries (international) and within countries (domestic), and inequality of opportunity (interpersonal).

As we approach the third year of the COVID-19 crisis, we deepen our understanding of the pandemic’s impact on poverty and inequality across the globe. One of the many changes prompted by COVID was…

After rebounding to an estimated 5.5 percent in 2021, global growth is expected to decelerate markedly in 2022—to 4.1 percent, reflecting continued COVID-19 flare-ups, diminished fiscal support,…

My first trip since the start of the pandemic was both productive and informative in equal measure. Ahead of the in-person G7 Finance Meetings in London, I first stopped in Helsinki and Moscow for…

The global economy is strengthening as it emerges from the deepest global recession since World War II. But its robust rebound in 2021 is expected to be markedly uneven.