After the corona-induced slump last year, the global economy is growing strongly again. Expected in the current year, a plus of 5.8 percent, 0.2 points more than in march assumed, as the organization for economic cooperation and development (OECD) announced on monday in paris.
There hasn’t been such strong growth since 1973, sums up chief economist laurence boone. For the coming year, it assumes a global plus of 4.4 percent. That is 0.4 points more than before. "The crisis and the recovery are completely out of the ordinary," she said. Last year, the global economy shrank by 3.5 percent.
But the corona crisis is not yet over, boone warned. The pandemic brings uncertainties. The europeans needed to vaccinate faster and more widely – including the non-EU country of great britain. The upswing is uneven around the world. It is worrying that emerging economies and poorer countries are not receiving enough vaccines. Inflation is also a risk.
The economic horizon is also brightening in germany. Gross domestic product was allowed to reach 3.3 percent in the current year. That’s 0.3 points more than previously predicted. 4.4 percent expected for next year, up 0.7 points from initial forecast.
The OECD, with 38 member states, began a two-day ministerial meeting on monday, held as a video conference. On tuesday, australia’s ex-finance minister mathias cormann (50) is to officially take over the top post of oecd secretary-general. Cormann, who comes from the german-speaking east of belgium, will succeed the mexican angel gurria, who has been in office since 2006.
In tug of war over global tax reform with minimum rates for big corporations, gurria says further delay possible. The final agreement could drag on until october. The summit of the major industrial and emerging countries (G20), scheduled for the end of october in rome, should then approve the final deal. "We have a deal in sight. Hopefully it will happen this year," said gurria.
The minimum tax for internationally active companies should put an end to the global race for the lowest tax rate. According to critics, many large corporations use all legal possibilities to shift profits to other countries as needed and thus save on taxes. Another cause for concern is that many corporations, especially those operating via the internet, pay little tax in the markets they serve.
The OECD, which plays a central role in the global negotiations, has so far been aiming for a deal by the middle of this year. Initially, there was supposed to be a compromise even by the end of 2020, but because of the corona pandemic and differences of opinion, the talks progressed more slowly than planned. Gurria now expects to have "outlines" of an agreement in place by july.