<\/p>\n
The IMF’s latest G20 Report on Strong, Sustainable, Balanced and Inclusive Growth forecasts annual growth across the G20 of just 3% by 2031, close to the lowest level seen since the global financial crisis.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The IMF said poorly designed structural policies, regulatory barriers and weak institutions are limiting investment and productivity at a time when economies are already facing pressures from energy price shocks, policy uncertainty and rising protectionism.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
According to the report, around half of G20 advanced economies and three-quarters of emerging market economies face growth constraints linked to excessive labour-market, product-market or consumer-protection regulations.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, the IMF stressed that deregulation is not always the answer. “The challenge is not simply to reduce regulation, but to get it right,” the report said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The IMF noted that while regulation plays a critical role in addressing market failures and protecting consumers, excessive or poorly targeted rules can reduce investment, hinder job creation and slow economic expansion.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In advanced economies, IMF country teams identified population ageing, housing restrictions and land-use regulations as significant barriers to growth.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In emerging market economies, the main challenges were found to be underdeveloped capital markets, weak public investment management systems, governance shortcomings and institutional weaknesses.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The report highlighted the European Union as an example where regulatory differences between member states continue to restrict the movement of labour, capital, goods and services across borders.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The IMF found that major deregulatory reforms have generally been associated with stronger investment and economic growth in several G20 economies.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, the report cautioned that labour-market liberalisation tends to produce positive results only where existing regulations are particularly restrictive.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The study also found that market-oriented reforms have become less common than during the 1980s and 1990s.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Political disagreements between stakeholder groups, different levels of government and member states within regional blocs were identified as major obstacles to reform implementation.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The IMF said overcoming these challenges requires strong institutions, clear communication and support measures to help individuals affected by reforms, such as retraining and skills development programmes.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The report also linked regulatory reform to emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI).<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
According to the IMF, more market-friendly telecommunications frameworks have supported investment in digital infrastructure and wider internet access, helping create conditions needed for the adoption of AI technologies.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The IMF concluded that while sound macroeconomic policies remain important, stronger medium-term growth will also depend on well-designed regulatory and institutional frameworks. “Strengthening medium-term prospects for the G20 requires well-designed regulatory and institutional frameworks that minimise policy-related impediments and provide benefits that clearly outweigh their costs,” the report said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–IMF\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":43735,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-43734","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Many G20 economies are facing weaker long-term growth prospects because of excessive regulation, policy inefficiencies and weak institutional frameworks, according to a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) report.","published_date":"","news_description":"Many G20 economies are facing weaker long-term growth prospects because of excessive regulation, policy inefficiencies and weak institutional frameworks, according to a new International Monetary Fund (IMF) report.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/43734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/43734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43736,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/43734\/revisions\/43736"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43735"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=43734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}