2018/19 Budget Communication 2018_2019 BUDGET COMMUNICATION | Page 59

The expansion of the world economy in 2017, at
3.8 per cent, was the strongest since 2011 and that pace is
forecast to be maintained in both 2018 and 2019, at 3.9 per
cent each year.
However, the longer term outlook beginning in
2020 and beyond is projected to be somewhat more
challenging for policymakers. At that point, the advanced
economies are forecast to return to potential growth rates
that are significantly lower than those that prevailed before
the onset of the global financial crisis of 2008-09. Ageing
populations and meager productivity improvements are
expected to be the main drivers of this slowdown. In the
U.S., growth over the medium term will be dampened below
potential by the projected reversal of the expansionary
impact of the recent fiscal policy changes.
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