Beijing's efforts to control inflation and prevent overheating have been largely successful. With growth likely moderating to 7–8 percent in the years ahead, officials are now turning their attention to domestic rebalancing.
The recent wheat price surge is unlikely to lead to a repeat of the 2007–2008 food crisis, but it will hurt the world’s poor disproportionately. Better international coordination is needed to prevent additional shocks.
Oil-importing countries in the Middle East and North Africa were relatively unharmed by the Great Recession, but in the changing global economy, new policies are needed to ensure that growth remains robust.
The relative calm in Europe signals a pause in—not an end to—the debt crisis. Though policy makers have taken encouraging initial steps to close budget deficits and restore competitiveness, much more remains to be done.
President Obama’s proposal for an infrastructure bank would enable the government to implement long-overdue improvements to the outdated U.S. transportation network and help the United States address its long term competitiveness crisis.
The current economic downturn shares many features with depressions of the past. The United States must acknowledge this and work aggressively to increase domestic demand, subsidize new industries, and reform the financial system.
Growth in emerging economies has slowed from torrid post-crisis rates, but remains high and will likely mitigate—but not fully compensate for—a sharp slowdown in advanced countries.
As China’s largest trading partner, the European Union can play an important role in ensuring that competing interests don’t exacerbate tensions—instead, shared interests should strengthen Europe’s relations with China.
U.S. immigration policy—a socially sensitive and economically critical issue—is in dire need of national reform. Among other things, successful reform should provide a path for legalization and remove restrictions on high-skilled immigration.
In order to avoid deep economic imbalances, China will have to abandon its current development model and raise wages, interest rates, and the value of its currency.























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