AFP, Paris :
G20 leaders have set ambitious goals for raising global growth, but economists see them as mostly hollow promises as countries are too busy with their own problems to contribute to rekindling global recovery.
At their weekend summit in Brisbane, Australia, the leaders of countries accounting for more than four-fifths of the world economy pledged to undertake reform measures to lift their collective growth by an extra 2.1 percent by 2018.
The measures to boost investment, trade and competition are promised to add more than $2 trillion to the global economy and create millions of jobs.
The pledge, coming amid a gloomy global economic outlook, has left economists cold.
Erik Nielsen, Unicredit’s global chief economist, said in his weekly newsletter: “I can’t help wonder where the beef is?”
Meanwhile Saxo Banque economist Christopher Dembik said: “We’ve gotten used to G20 declarations of good intentions.
He dismissed the growth target as “completely ridiculous”.
“It would have been better (to) target the countries that have the resources to invest, spend and consume,” he said. Dembik cited Germany and the United States, which he said should accept “making a temporary sacrifice to revive the global economy”.
The example of Japan shows well just how difficult it will be to return to sustainable growth, he said.
G20 member Japan surprised the world Monday with data showing it had fallen back into recession despite its massive easy money policies aimed at lifting it out of a decade of deflation and lost growth.
Meanwhile, even the solid German economy is expected to see “sluggish” growth for the rest of the year, the Bundesbank said Monday.
British Prime Minister David Cameron wrote in the daily Guardian following the G20 summit that there is a “a dangerous backdrop of instability and uncertainty” in the world economy.
“We cannot insulate ourselves completely but we must do all we can to protect ourselves from a global downturn,” he said in a tacit acknowledgement of the limits of the promises made by G20 leaders.
Natixis Asset Management economist Philippe Waetcher said the G20 growth target was “ambitious and clearly it won’t be easy” to achieve.
“But today the behaviour of each country is quite timid in order to protect their own position,” he observed.
The desire to defend national interests is most clearly visible in the policies of various central banks, which according to some economists are closer to a currency war than a coordinated rival to global growth.
G20 leaders have set ambitious goals for raising global growth, but economists see them as mostly hollow promises as countries are too busy with their own problems to contribute to rekindling global recovery.
At their weekend summit in Brisbane, Australia, the leaders of countries accounting for more than four-fifths of the world economy pledged to undertake reform measures to lift their collective growth by an extra 2.1 percent by 2018.
The measures to boost investment, trade and competition are promised to add more than $2 trillion to the global economy and create millions of jobs.
The pledge, coming amid a gloomy global economic outlook, has left economists cold.
Erik Nielsen, Unicredit’s global chief economist, said in his weekly newsletter: “I can’t help wonder where the beef is?”
Meanwhile Saxo Banque economist Christopher Dembik said: “We’ve gotten used to G20 declarations of good intentions.
He dismissed the growth target as “completely ridiculous”.
“It would have been better (to) target the countries that have the resources to invest, spend and consume,” he said. Dembik cited Germany and the United States, which he said should accept “making a temporary sacrifice to revive the global economy”.
The example of Japan shows well just how difficult it will be to return to sustainable growth, he said.
G20 member Japan surprised the world Monday with data showing it had fallen back into recession despite its massive easy money policies aimed at lifting it out of a decade of deflation and lost growth.
Meanwhile, even the solid German economy is expected to see “sluggish” growth for the rest of the year, the Bundesbank said Monday.
British Prime Minister David Cameron wrote in the daily Guardian following the G20 summit that there is a “a dangerous backdrop of instability and uncertainty” in the world economy.
“We cannot insulate ourselves completely but we must do all we can to protect ourselves from a global downturn,” he said in a tacit acknowledgement of the limits of the promises made by G20 leaders.
Natixis Asset Management economist Philippe Waetcher said the G20 growth target was “ambitious and clearly it won’t be easy” to achieve.
“But today the behaviour of each country is quite timid in order to protect their own position,” he observed.
The desire to defend national interests is most clearly visible in the policies of various central banks, which according to some economists are closer to a currency war than a coordinated rival to global growth.
