IMF Chief Christine Lagarde asks world to seize opportunity of global recovery
PTI|
Updated: Oct 06, 2017, 11.20 PM IST
WASHINGTON: IMF chief Christine Lagarde on Thursday said that the long-awaited global recovery is taking root and asked the global community to seize this opportunity of the upswing to create a more inclusive economy that works for all.
Referring to IMF research which has shown that reforms are more potent and easier to implement when economies are healthier, Lagarde said that the international community needs to use this time frame to lift incomes, create jobs, invest in people’s futures and foster inclusive growth.
“The long-awaited global recovery is taking root,” the International Monetary Fund managing director said in an address at the Harvard University. “Can the world seize the opportunity of the upswing to secure the recovery and create a more inclusive economy that works for all?” she asked.
She also said empowering women is an economic no-brainer. “If women participated in the labour force in the same numbers as men, GDP could increase by as much as 5% in the US, 27% in India and 34% in Egypt, to name just three examples,” Lagarde said in her speech.
“In the largest economies, overall productivity growth – a measure of how efficient we are – has dropped to 0.3%, down from a precrisis average of about 1% per cent. This means that, despite technological advances, wages in many places are only inching up,” she said. Boosting productivity, a factor in lifting wages, requires, among other things, cutting red tape, increasing spending on research and development, and investing in infrastructure, she added.
Referring to IMF research which has shown that reforms are more potent and easier to implement when economies are healthier, Lagarde said that the international community needs to use this time frame to lift incomes, create jobs, invest in people’s futures and foster inclusive growth.
“The long-awaited global recovery is taking root,” the International Monetary Fund managing director said in an address at the Harvard University. “Can the world seize the opportunity of the upswing to secure the recovery and create a more inclusive economy that works for all?” she asked.
She also said empowering women is an economic no-brainer. “If women participated in the labour force in the same numbers as men, GDP could increase by as much as 5% in the US, 27% in India and 34% in Egypt, to name just three examples,” Lagarde said in her speech.
“In the largest economies, overall productivity growth – a measure of how efficient we are – has dropped to 0.3%, down from a precrisis average of about 1% per cent. This means that, despite technological advances, wages in many places are only inching up,” she said. Boosting productivity, a factor in lifting wages, requires, among other things, cutting red tape, increasing spending on research and development, and investing in infrastructure, she added.
