Chief Economists Outlook

The May 2024 Chief Economists Outlook reports a shift toward cautious optimism, with a significant decrease in the number of economists expecting global economic weakening. While growth prospects are improving in the US and Asia, Europe remains weak. Geopolitics and domestic politics are viewed as primary sources of volatility, whereas AI is seen as a long-term growth driver. The report emphasizes the need for innovation, infrastructure, and education to revive global growth, particularly in low-income economies.

• There is a marked increase in optimism regarding the global economy, with the share of chief economists expecting conditions to weaken falling from 56% in January 2024 to 17% in April 2024.
• Geopolitical and domestic political factors are identified as the primary drivers of economic volatility for 2024, with 97% of respondents citing geopolitics and 83% citing domestic politics.
• Regional growth outlooks are divergent: the US saw a jump in optimism to 97% expecting moderate or stronger growth, and Asia is expected to be buoyant, while Europe continues to record the weakest prospects for the sixth consecutive edition.
• Global inflation is projected to decline from 6.8% in 2023 to 5.9% in 2024 and 4.5% in 2025, though emerging market and developing economies face higher average projected rates of 8% in 2024.
• Corporate decision-making is increasingly driven by political factors; 86% of respondents believe geopolitics will drive decisions, and 71% cite domestic political factors, while growth targets (73%) are prioritized over environmental and social targets (37%).
• Looking ahead five years, nearly 70% of economists expect global growth to return to 4%, with AI and technological transformation viewed as strong positive drivers for high-income economies.
• The most effective policy levers for boosting growth over the next five years are identified as innovation, infrastructure development, and education and skills improvement, with particularly high potential in low-income economies.

APA

World Economic Forum (2024). Chief Economists Outlook. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Chief_Economists_Outlook_May2024.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. Chief Economists Outlook. 2024. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Chief_Economists_Outlook_May2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=Chief Economists Outlook |date=May 2024 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Chief_Economists_Outlook_May2024.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2024chief, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{Chief Economists Outlook}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2024}, month = may, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Chief_Economists_Outlook_May2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }