Macroeconomic Clouds on the Global Horizon

Ludovic Comeau Jr. is a longtime business economics authority who has extensive experience in strategic growth policies. As DePaul University College of Applied and Professional Studies associate professor, he teaches on diverse policy issues encompassing both macro- and microeconomics.

An early 2017 Forbes article focused on long-term issues impacting global stability and economic growth, including Europe’s current unwinding process, in which Britain is separating itself from the European Union. This predictable process is a relatively minor concern compared with an increasing anti-European Union sentiment on the Continent, which could manifest in voters in Italy turning away from a unified Europe footing. This would weaken the Continent’s united policies on several fronts, including from trade, refugee policy, and environmental standards. It could also trigger recessionary trends that could harm EU citizens economically. 

Another global issue is China’s continued attempt to transition away from cheap credit, which has been a tool for financing infrastructure investments and export growth. With credit increasingly going to less productive uses, debt has soared. A recent IMF analysis points to overall credit growth of 20 percent per year, which appears unsustainable relative to the much lower rate of nominal GDP growth.