It's been an difficult year globally. It began with much relief and
congratulations all round, based on perceptions that the financial
crisis had been handled effectively, that the Great Recession was over
and that significant economies (especially in the developing world) were
powering their way back to rapid growth. But it is ending on a much
more tentative and even troubled note.
The rebounding of output
barely touched unemployment, which remains at historically high levels
in most countries. The sovereign debt problems in Europe are just an
indication that the financial crisis is far from over, and will continue
to reveal itself in new forms for quite some time to come. Meanwhile,
the stingy and (so far, at least) visionless response of the stronger
economies to the crises in peripheral Europe has condemned them to
intensified contraction and ensured that the EU will generate little
growth and much instability in the near future.
Jayati Ghosh is is one of the world's leading female economists. She is
professor of Economics at JawaharlalNehru university, New Delhi, and the
executive secretary of International Development Economics Associates
(IDEAS). She is a regular columnist for several Indian journals and
newspapers, a member of the National Knowledge Commission advising the
Prime Minister of India and is closely involved with a range progressive
organisations and social movements