OECD Raises World GPD Growth Forecast To 5.8%

The OECD raised its 2021 global GPD growth forecast Monday but warned that “too many headwinds persist” as not enough Covid vaccines are reaching emerging economies.

The world economy will expand by 5.8 percent this year, up from a previous estimate of 5.6 percent, the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said in a report.

This follows a massive global recession last year that was caused by lockdowns and travel curbs imposed by governments.

“It is with some relief that we can see the economic outlook brightening, but with some discomfort that it is doing so in a very uneven way,” OECD chief Laurence Boone said in the report.

The recovery is uneven so far, with the United States and China returning to pre-pandemic levels and forecast to have much stronger growth than other major economies such as Japan and Germany.

The 38-nation organisation, whose members account for 60 percent of global gross domestic product, applauded the rapid reaction of governments to prop up the economy.

Boone said it was “very disturbing” that not enough vaccines were reaching emerging and low-income economies.

“This is exposing these economies to a fundamental threat because they have less policy capacity to support activity than advanced economies,” she said.

The warning comes as the emergence of more contagious coronavirus variants has raised concerns around the world, with India battling.

“As long as the vast majority of the global population is not vaccinated, all of us remain vulnerable to the emergence of new variants,” Boone said.

However, it is evident enough that world policy agency such as the OECD is also serving as a strong voice in the push for global drive for vaccination and using it as criteria to a meaningful and sustainable global growth partern.