The global economy is growing, inflation subsiding but public sentiment is unsettled, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said Thursday (Oct. 24) in Washington, DC. Thousands of journalists, policymakers, bankers and civil society organizations are gathered there for the Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank.
 
“The global economy has held up remarkably well. Inflation continues to decline thanks to the concerted efforts of central banks, and also thanks to the ease in supply chain performance. Growth remained in positive territory and interest rates are going down. For most of the world’s soft landing is in sight. But people are not feeling good about their economic prospects,” Georgieva told reporters at the announcement of the annual Global Policy Agenda for the Fund.
 
“Everybody’s here. How is your economy? The answer is good. How is the mood of your people? The answer is, not so good. Families are still hurting from high prices and global growth is anemic,” Georgieva told reporters.
 
While growth is good, it’s not high enough to lift many out from poverty. Georgieva noted that post-pandemic debt is still too high in many countries, while productivity has remained anemic.
 
“So here is the bottom line. The global economy is in danger of getting stuck on a low growth high debt path. That means lower incomes and fewer jobs. It also means lower government revenues. So less investment to support families and fight long term challenges like, climate change. These are anxious times.”
 
Georgieva also warned that signs of fragmentation are growing, with threats of trade actions and protectionism heating up. That puts trade and global cooperation at risk.
 
“We have ample evidence that when countries cooperate, everybody benefits. We also have ample evidence that when there is a higher uncertainty, the value of cooperation is higher,” said Georgieva sounding an optimistic tone.
 
A copy of the full transcript is available at IMF.org