Europe and Central Asia Economic Update, May 2018 PDF Download

Author: World Bank
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464812993
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 340

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Book Description
"With growth in Europe and Central Asia likely at its peak, this report addresses two questions. How well is the region prepared for an expected slowdown? How well has the economic upswing been used to adjust to the digital revolution? The report specifically focuses on cryptocurrency and blockchain activities in the region."

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Publisher:
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Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
With growth in Europe and Central Asia likely at its peak, this report addresses two questions. Howwell is the region prepared for an expected slowdown? How well has the economic upswing beenused to adjust to the digital revolution? The report specifically focuses on cryptocurrency andblockchain activities in the region.

Author: Ivailo Izvorski
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464819823
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 122

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Book Description
Economic growth slowed sharply last year in Europe and Central Asia, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a surge in inflation, and the sharp tightening of monetary policy and financing conditions hit private consumption, investment, and trade. The marked increase in food and energy prices boosted inflation to a pace not seen in 20 years. The burden of inflation was spread unevenly across households. The poorest households faced inflation that was more than 2 percentage points higher than the inflation faced by the richest households, with this difference exceeding 5 percentage points in some countries. Poverty and inequality rates derived from household-specific inflation rates differ from those based on the standard consumer price index (CPI) approach. These differences have important policy implications, because many programs use CPI†“based inflation adjustments, which do not accurately capture changes in the cost of living of targeted populations. Output growth in the region is projected to remain little changed in 2023 but better than projected in January 2023, largely reflecting upgrades to the pace of expansion in Poland, Russia, and Türkiye.

Author: International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
Publisher: International Monetary Fund
ISBN:
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 59

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Book Description
In a worsening global environment, economies in the Middle East and Central Asia are being buffeted by a confluence of shocks: a global slowdown, high and volatile food and energy prices, faster and stronger than expected tightening of financial conditions, and the risk of fragmentation. The region’s emerging market and middle-income economies (EM&MIs) and low-income countries (LICs) are hit hard, with many facing curtailed access to market financing, while oil-exporting countries are being buffered by still-high energy prices. The adverse impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine on the Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA) has thus far been milder than expected. Still, the CCA’s strong ties to Russia entail substantial risks to the region’s outlook. The most urgent policy challenge for all countries is to tackle the cost-of-living crisis by restoring price stability, protecting vulnerable groups through targeted support, and ensuring food security. Policy trade-offs in EM&MIs and LICs have become more pronounced than ever, as they also need to preserve debt sustainability and financial stability. Oil exporters have the opportunity to maximize the benefits of the oil windfall by building buffers and advancing their diversification plans. CCA countries should carefully assess the magnitude and durability of the initial spillovers from the war in Ukraine and adjust their policy mix accordingly. Limited policy space in many countries raises the urgency of structural reforms to bolster economic growth while transforming economies to become more resilient, sustainable, diversified, and inclusive.

Author: World Bank
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464816662
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 339

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Book Description
The world economy is experiencing a very strong but uneven recovery, with many emerging market and developing economies facing obstacles to vaccination. The global outlook remains uncertain, with major risks around the path of the pandemic and the possibility of financial stress amid large debt loads. Policy makers face a difficult balancing act as they seek to nurture the recovery while safeguarding price stability and fiscal sustainability. A comprehensive set of policies will be required to promote a strong recovery that mitigates inequality and enhances environmental sustainability, ultimately putting economies on a path of green, resilient, and inclusive development. Prominent among the necessary policies are efforts to lower trade costs so that trade can once again become a robust engine of growth. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Global Economic Prospects. The Global Economic Prospects is a World Bank Group Flagship Report that examines global economic developments and prospects, with a special focus on emerging market and developing economies, on a semiannual basis (in January and June). Each edition includes analytical pieces on topical policy challenges faced by these economies.

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.
ISBN: 9251311536
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 112

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Book Description
The Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition in Europe and Central Asia 2018 provides new evidence for monitoring trends in food security and nutrition within the framework of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. The in-depth analysis of progress made against Sustainable Development Goal 2 Target 2.1 (to end hunger and ensure access to food by all) and Target 2.2 (to end all forms of malnutrition), as well as the state of micronutrient deficiencies, is complemented by a review of recent policy measures taken to address food security and nutrition in all its dimensions. The Europe and Central Asia (ECA) region encompasses great economic, social and environmental diversity, and its countries are facing various food security and nutrition challenges. While they have made significant progress in reducing the prevalence of undernourishment over the past two decades, new evidence shows a stagnation of this trend, particularly in Central Asia. Malnutrition in one or more of its three main forms – undernutrition, micronutrient deficiencies, and overweight and obesity – is present to varying degrees in all countries of the region. Often, all three forms coexist, creating what is called the “triple burden of malnutrition.” Overweight among children and obesity among adults continue to rise – with now almost one-fourth of the region’s adults obese – and constitute a significant concern for future health and well-being and related costs. While poverty levels in most ECA countries have been declining in recent years, poverty coupled with inequality has led to increased vulnerability of disadvantaged groups and populations in rural and remote areas of low- and lower-middle-income countries. New analysis shows that adult women have a higher prevalence of severe food insecurity than men in some areas, pointing to gender inequalities that are reflected in access to food. Addressing gender and other inequalities is key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and heeding the call to “leave no one behind.” The publication’s focus this year is on migration, gender and youth and the linkages with rural development and food security in Europe and Central Asia. Migration is linked in multiple ways to gender, youth, and agricultural and rural development – both as a driver and possible source of development opportunities, with labour migration and remittances playing significant roles in the region. Changing migration processes need to be fully understood to better address the challenges of migration and harness the potential benefits for sustainable development and revitalized rural areas. Governments, public and private institutions, communities and other concerned parties must strengthen collaboration and scale up efforts towards achieving the goals of a thriving, healthy and food-secure region.

Author: World Bank
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464816980
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Governments play a critical role in the economies of Europe and Central Asia, where government expenditures are close to 40 percent of gross domestic product and the public sector accounts for nearly 27 percent of total employment, which is almost twice the global average. The public sector often attracts some of the best educated workers in the region. And support for a larger public sector is increasing due to aging populations and their growing health care and long-term care needs, rising inequality and greater support for redistribution, and increasing expenditures as governments address the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis. The significant role that government plays underscores the importance of the quality of governance in determining productivity and growth and effectively responding to the region’s economic and social challenges. Digital technology and the data revolution offer the potential to increase efficiency, transparency, responsiveness, and citizen trust, directly impacting the quality of government. Across the world, the quality of government is increasingly informed by the extent to which governments harness digital tools and GovTech to optimize management, service delivery, and overall state capacity. Technology and data are also key for fostering collaboration between governments and civil society to improve public sector efficiency and service delivery. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the costs associated with delaying digitalization and GovTech implementation and the opportunities that lie in public sector modernization.

Author: Asian Development Bank
Publisher: Asian Development Bank
ISBN: 9292611216
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 650

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The annual Asian Development Outlook analyzes economic performance in the past year and offers forecasts for the next 2 years for the 45 economies in Asia and the Pacific that make up developing Asia. Growth prospects in the region are upbeat, buoyed by favorable demand at home and abroad. A strong performance in 2017 reflected a surge in exports, which will likely abate this year and next, and rapidly expanding domestic demand. While the outlook is for steady growth, risks to it are decidedly on the downside: Trade friction could weaken recently deepened trade links, tightening US monetary policy could diminish investment in developing Asia, and rising domestic private debt may hamper growth. New technologies drive higher productivity, the foundation for economic growth, better-paid jobs, and poverty reduction. The latest technologies in robotics and artificial intelligence may threaten some jobs, however, and leave less-skilled workers behind. To maximize gains in productivity while safeguarding social welfare, governments in developing Asia should protect workers but not preserve particular jobs. Meanwhile, they should facilitate the countervailing forces in new technologies that generate new jobs. Dealing with the downsides of new technology requires synchronized effort on skills development, labor regulation, social protection, and income redistribution.

Author: Asli Demirguc-Kunt
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464812683
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 228

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Book Description
In 2011 the World Bank—with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation—launched the Global Findex database, the world's most comprehensive data set on how adults save, borrow, make payments, and manage risk. Drawing on survey data collected in collaboration with Gallup, Inc., the Global Findex database covers more than 140 economies around the world. The initial survey round was followed by a second one in 2014 and by a third in 2017. Compiled using nationally representative surveys of more than 150,000 adults age 15 and above in over 140 economies, The Global Findex Database 2017: Measuring Financial Inclusion and the Fintech Revolution includes updated indicators on access to and use of formal and informal financial services. It has additional data on the use of financial technology (or fintech), including the use of mobile phones and the Internet to conduct financial transactions. The data reveal opportunities to expand access to financial services among people who do not have an account—the unbanked—as well as to promote greater use of digital financial services among those who do have an account. The Global Findex database has become a mainstay of global efforts to promote financial inclusion. In addition to being widely cited by scholars and development practitioners, Global Findex data are used to track progress toward the World Bank goal of Universal Financial Access by 2020 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The database, the full text of the report, and the underlying country-level data for all figures—along with the questionnaire, the survey methodology, and other relevant materials—are available at www.worldbank.org/globalfindex.

Author: World Bank
Publisher: World Bank Publications
ISBN: 1464814090
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 108

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Book Description
With slowing global growth and increasing uncertainty clouding the global economic prospects, the Europe and Central Asia region faces a more challenging context than previously envisioned. Growth in the emerging markets and developing economies in the region slowed in 2018 and is projected to decline to further in 2019, before picking up in 2020-21. What challenges does the region face in the coming year? In the long run, how should policy makers design policies that boost growth and help individuals and firms adjust to the interplay between globalization and technological change? Within the global context, this update summarizes the recent developments and outlook for the region. The focus of this issue is on financial inclusion in the region, as one of the important policy areas that can promote long-term growth, reduce poverty, and enhance resilience to shocks.