In a speech, at Georgetown University in Washington, Kristalina Georgieva said she believed the situation “will still get worse before it gets better.”
“Uncertainty is very high,” she said, highlighting the effects of the war, pointing out that pandemic that “has not yet gone away” and also adding that “risks around financial stability are growing.”
The IMF managing director said the entity was again downgrading its forecasts for the world economy in 2023, projecting economic growth to be four trillion euros lower by 2026.
Georgieva also said that the institution had already lowered its global growth forecasts three times and was now expecting 3.2 percent for this year and 2.9 percent for 2023.
The IMF managing director said the situation could be solved by three priorities for economies, calling first for measures to reduce inflation, preventing it from becoming “entrenched” at current values. Still, he said these efforts must be balanced, because otherwise they could push “many economies into a prolonged recession.”
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“Central banks have to continue to respond,” she said, “even if the economy slows down.”
The second priority, for Georgieva, involves fiscal measures that protect “the most vulnerable households and businesses,” warning that these measures must be “very well targeted” and calling on countries to “not give subsidies to the rich.” The IMF managing director also warned of the negative effects of widespread price controls.
Finally, Georgieva stressed the importance of supporting emerging markets and developing economies.
