The World Economic Outlook

Abstract

World economic and financial conditions remain generally encouraging, despite a disappointing performance recently in continental western Europe, and the global economic expansion is expected to continue at a satisfactory pace in 1996-97 and over the medium term (Table 1 and Chart 1). Global growth, which slowed slightly to 3 1/2 percent in 1995, is expected to pick up to 3 3/4 percent in 1996 as a whole, with a further modest strengthening to about 4 percent in 1997. At the same time, world trade growth-while slowing-is expected to remain above trend, and inflation to be contained in developing countries and to fall further in developing countries (Table 2).