The global economy is in the midst of its deepest and most widespread recession since WW II. The euro-area economy has not been spared. It has been in recession since the second quarter of 2008 with the fall in real GDP accelerating to 2.5% quarter-on-quarter (q-o-q) by the first quarter of this...

Private consumption is a key component in the rebalancing of growth that China is seeking, and a challenging one. Not only for the 1.3 bn. Chinese citizens, but it could make an important contribution in addressing global imbalances. Understanding what drove the consumption share down to a mere...

China's economy slowed significantly in the first three quarters of 2012 and questions have been raised on a possible hard landing. While recent early indicators have shown signs of improvement in the most recent months, it is essential to understand what is driving this slowdown and how lasting...

Global value chains which have spread across the world economy require a strong global institutional framework to address new challenges and further trade liberalisation going far beyond tariff reduction with services, investment and regulatory issues gaining on importance. The revealed greater...

The US, Japan and China appear to be heading towards a "new normal". However, the 2014-16 period will be critical to ensure that global growth is put on a sustainable path as ample challenges persist. The brief will first discuss what the new manual would look like in the US, Japan and China. It...

The global crisis has taken its toll on the EU’s prime position in international trade. While the EU still has the largest relative market shares, its position has deteriorated since the crisis, much more so than the US, and its comparative advantage in knowledge-intensive goods has been...