New Challenges Facing the Global Economy

Thursday, Apr 11, 2019 | 04:00 PM - 04:45 PM

Location: HQ1 Atrium, HQ1-1-700

Seminar Report

Moderator: Rana Foroohar, Global Business Columnist, Financial Times

Speaker: David Lipton, First Deputy Managing Director, IMF

Following a period of broad-based cyclical growth, global economic expansion has decelerated and the outlook is more subdued. A discussion with David Lipton covered the complex new challenges facing the global economy, including trade tensions, technology and doubts about globalization, as well as how policy makers should think about these issues.

Key Points:

· Economic Outlook. While one-year ago economic activity was accelerating, the weakened expansion over the latter half of 2018 and start of 2019 has contributed to a more subdued current economic growth outlook. While a recession is not expected in the near term, there is concern that traditional policy levers are constrained, either by the current low interest rate levels for monetary policy, or the high levels of debt for fiscal policy.

· Trade tensions. There are growing concerns about the impact of trade tensions. While some of the negative impacts of trade on domestic economies may have been overestimated, there have been winners and losers, in particular in advanced economies. There is also a risk of policies turning inwards through protectionism. The role of the IMF is to promote global integration that improves growth prospects and living standards for all. An important challenge will be to design policies to deal with rising inequality and take account of domestic concerns, while being consistent with the continuation of global integration.

· Technology. The risk of fragmentation across regions due to technological change, including through differentiated approaches to anti-trust frameworks, data privacy legislation and cyber security, is an issue that policymakers need to prepare for. The IMF is also considering the potential impact of technology on the future of work, as potential improvements in productivity may lead to possible labor dislocation.

· New multilateralism. There are a number of important global public goods in search of new and smarter multilateral approaches. These include, amongst others, climate change, refugees, and cyber security. Addressing the existing challenges of the WTO is also an important issue that needs to be addressed though international cooperation.

Quotes:

“We need new institutions in the world. Not stricter… but smarter rules and institutions that will provide satisfaction to countries that feel they’ve been aggrieved” David Lipton

“We see technological change around us everywhere, we experience it every day… what we don’t see is an acceleration of global growth” David Lipton

Contributor: Alex Lalor

A moderated discussion with David Lipton, First Deputy Managing Director of the IMF, covering key issues and risks facing the global economy, including trade tensions, fintech, and how well-prepared governments are for the next downturn. How should policy makers be thinking about these new challenges and their potential impact?

Join the conversation: #GlobalEcon

Panelists

David Lipton
First Deputy Managing Director, IMF

David Lipton assumed the position of First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund on September 1, 2011. On March 28, 2016, he was reappointed for a second five-year term beginning September 1, 2016. Before coming to the Fund, Mr. Lipton was Special Assistant to the President, and served as Senior Director for International Economic Affairs at the National Economic Council and National Security Council at the White House. Previously, he was a Managing Director at Citi, and also served in the Clinton administration as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs — and before that as Assistant Secretary. Mr. Lipton earned a Ph.D. and M.A. from Harvard University in 1982 and a B.A. from Wesleyan University in 1975.

Rana Foroohar
Columnist, Financial Times

Rana Foroohar is Global Business Columnist and an Associate Editor at the Financial Times, based in New York. She is also CNN’s global economic analyst. Her book, “Makers and Takers: The Rise of Finance and the Fall of American Business” (Crown), about why the capital markets no longer support business, was shortlisted for the Financial Times McKinsey Book of the Year award in 2016. Prior to joining the FT and CNN, Foroohar spent 6 years at TIME, as an assistant managing editor and economic columnist. She previously spent 13 years at Newsweek, as an economic and foreign affairs editor and a foreign correspondent covering Europe and the Middle East. During that time, she was awarded the German Marshall Fund’s Peter Weitz Prize for transatlantic reporting. She has also received awards and fellowships from institutions such as the Johns Hopkins School of International Affairs and the East West Center. She is a life member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Foroohar graduated in 1992 from Barnard College, Columbia University. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband, the author John Sedgwick, and her two children.

Media Partners