G7_JAPAN

Growth, jobs and structural reform
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Investment in infrastructure projects
would raise short-term growth
G7 members could adopt a joint plan
to address gender gaps in STEM fields
Angel
Gurría
Secretary General
OECD
Gurría has been Secretary
General since 2006, having been
reappointed in 2010. He served
as Mexico’s Minister of Foreign
Affairs from 1994 to 1998 and
Minister of Finance and Public
Credit from 1998 to 2000. Gurría
has participated in various
international organisations,
including the Population Council
and the Center for Global
Development. He chaired the
International Task Force on
Financing Water for All and was
a member of the United Nations
Secretary General’s Advisory
Board on Water and Sanitation.
@OECD
www.oecd.org
Shared solutions
to shared problems
The OECD is eager to assist G7 members in three key agenda
areas: trade and investment, gender equality and ageing societies
The G7 and the Organisation
for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD) are
active partners in combining
their efforts to strengthen the
global economy. The OECD has been proud
to support the Japanese G7 presidency and
substantively contribute to the G7 agenda,
particularly as the global economy is
facing multiple challenges.
Stronger global growth remains elusive,
according to the OECD’s latest projections.
The world economy is expected to expand
by just 3% in 2016, its slowest pace in five
years, and pick up only slightly to 3.3% in
2017. Growth rates remain significantly below
long-run averages of 3.75%. The recovery in
advanced economies is sub-par, many labour
markets still feature poor job creation and
slow wage growth, and productivity gains
remain weak. Meanwhile, growth has also
slowed in emerging market economies.
Although trade flows have recovered
somewhat from the sharp decline in the first
half of last year, weak trade and investment
continue to hinder the global recovery.
Financial markets have regained most
of the ground lost earlier this year, yet
market and capital flow volatility remain
elevated and risks to global growth
prospects are still tilted down. There has
also been rapid growth of private sector
debt in emerging markets, with several
economies vulnerable to exchange rate
shocks with large shares of foreign currency
debt. Although current vulnerabilities
remain lower than in periods preceding
past crises, with higher reserves and more
macro-prudential buffers, there could
still be serious financial and economic
104 G7 Japan: The Ise-Shima Summit • May 2016 g7g20.com