Economic Forecasts from the World's Leading Economists

Global growth is set to ease this year

Global economic growth is expected to be subdued this year and next, mainly due to softer dynamics in developed economies. The global economy has been negatively affected by weak external demand, partly stifled by rising trade protectionism. Supportive fiscal and monetary policies, tight labor markets and low inflation, however, are expected to cushion the slowdown.

Latin America’s growth outlook was cut again this month, continuing the trend seen over the past six months. Headwinds from trade tensions and country-specific factors are seen stunting activity. Particularly, Argentina is seen stuck in a deep recession amid a confidence crisis, while fiscal consolidation, policy uncertainty and low sentiment are weighing on several economies.  

Growth is seen fairly stable next year, with slowdowns in the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico offset by faster growth in Costa Rica and Panama. Political uncertainty in Haiti and Nicaragua, exposure to natural disasters and uncertainty over the future of the TPS program in the U.S.—the termination of which could hit remittances—are downside risks.

Growth dynamics should improve in 2020 after the U.S.-China trade war weighed on the regional economy this year. Accommodative fiscal and monetary policies will support growth, while the recent easing in trade tensions could reduce headwinds. A slowdown in China and a potential reescalation of trade tensions are key downside risks to the outlook.

East Asian economies are expected to decelerate in 2019

The East Asian economy is seen further decelerating next year as export-driven economies continue to face headwinds from China-U.S. trade tensions, which are weighing on global economic activity. More supportive fiscal and monetary policies should, however, support growth.

Growth shifted into a lower gear in the second quarter

Central & Eastern Europe growth to decelerate in 2019

Regional growth will ease this year, due to a challenging external backdrop and as the business cycle matures. The economy is seen losing further traction in 2020 as supply-side constraints bite harder, wage growth softens and EU fund inflows moderate. An intensification of U.S.-China trade tensions and a sharper global slowdown pose downside risks to the outlook.

The Turkish downturn set to drag on regional activity

Regional economic growth is expected to slow in 2019, largely due to a contraction in Turkey. Moreover, a weaker Euro area will likely weigh on external demand. That said, domestic metrics should support growth, underpinned by healthy private consumption and capital spending. Ongoing trade tensions, the EU slowdown and a fragile political climate in Turkey cloud the outlook.

The Russian downturn to reverberate across most of the CIS economies in 2019

The region’s growth prospects for 2019 remained downbeat in October, amid deteriorating expectations for Russia. Weak consumer demand in Russia and external headwinds are set to continue weighing on the region’s outlook this year, although sturdier growth in Azerbaijan, coupled with improving conditions in Kazakhstan and Ukraine, should cushion the slowdown.

While oil production cuts have significantly weighed on MENA’s economic growth this year, this situation could reverse if the OPEC+ deal ends in March 2020 as planned. Irrespective, regional geopolitical threats and domestic political unrest will continue to put downward pressure on growth this year and, probably, also in 2020

After a projected slowdown this year, growth is expected to pick up in 2020 on the back of strengthening activity in the region’s largest resource-rich economies: Nigeria and South Africa. That said, the outlook remains challenging, weighed on by domestic policy uncertainty, slow pace of reforms, commodity-price volatility, elevated trade tensions and weakening global growth.