The World Bank came out with a report today stating that the world economy would shrink, which is the most dire assessment that an institution of economists have come out with for the economic prospects this year.
The New York Times reports:
The World Bank said in a new report that the crisis that began with junk mortgages in the United States was causing havoc for poorer countries that had nothing to do with the original problem.
And in a press release the World Bank states:
Many of the world’s poorest countries are becoming ever more dependent on development assistance as their exports and fiscal revenues decline because of the crisis. Donors are already behind by around $39 billion on their commitments to increase aid made at the Gleneagles Summit in 2005. The concern now is that aid flows will become more volatile as some countries cut their aid budgets while others reaffirm aid commitments, at least for this year.
The report can be found here in pdf format.
