Annual Economic Report 2019

It was perhaps too good to be true. In 2017, it was unusual to see a synchronised global expansion at rates above estimates of potential so late in the upswing and, moreover, to project it to continue well into the future. 

Over the past 12 months, the global economy slowed down. After a robust upturn that pushed global growth well above potential in 2017, growth was set to moderate somewhat. 

After high inflation and crises in the 1990s, many emerging market economies (EMEs) adopted inflation targeting as their monetary policy framework, catching up with the trend set by advanced economies. 

Technology firms such as Alibaba, Amazon, Facebook, Google and Tencent have grown rapidly over the last two decades. The business model of these "big techs" rests on enabling direct interactions among a large number of users.