World Bank chief urges structural reforms amid slowing global growth

Sep 24, 2019: World Bank President David Malpass said Tuesday that global growth prospects are weakening, and investment growth is slowing down, highlighting the urgency to conduct structural reforms in developing countries.

In a speech at the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), Malpass said the global economy is expected to decelerate further "given recent developments," falling short of the World Bank's June projection of 2.6 percent for 2019 real global growth.

The slowdown in global growth is broad-based, with "disappointments" in much of the developing world, and some parts of Europe in recession or close to falling into recession, said Malpass, who took office as the president of the global lender in April.

Global growth and investment are slowing with a substantial amount of capital frozen in low-yielding bonds, the World Bank chief said.

"Well-designed structural reforms are urgently needed to unlock barriers to growth and build the foundations for future prosperity," Malpass said, calling on countries to prioritize good policies on a range of issues, such as market-based pricing, aligning borrowing and investment decisions, debt transparency, participation in global value chains and so on.

In a conversation with PIIE President Adam Posen following the speech, Malpass highlighted the changing relationship between the bank and China.

"China is evolving our relationship in several ways and one is toward a greater involvement with global public goods," he said, noting that the country is "borrowing less and donating more."

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