WORLD ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL SURVEYS World Economic Outlook Asset Prices and the Business Cycle May 2000

A Survey by the Staff of the International Monetary Fund
©2000 International Monetary Fund

The World Economic Outlook presents the IMF staff’s analysis and projections of economic developments at the global level, in major country groups (classified by region, stage of development, etc.), and in many individual countries. It focuses on major economic policy issues as well as on the analysis of economic developments and prospects. It is usually prepared twice a year, as documentation for meetings of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, and forms the main instrument of the IMF’s global surveillance activities.

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Boxes
1.1	An Alternative Scenario
1.2	Revisions in National Accounts Methodologies
1.3	Economic Policy Assumptions Underlying the Projections for Selected Advanced Countries
1.4	The Pros and Cons of Dollarization
2.1	Turkey's IMF-Supported Disinflation Program
2.2	Cycles in Nonfuel Commodity Prices
2.3	Booms and Slumps in the World Oil Market
3.1	Productivity and Stock Prices in the United States: Are Recent Trends Sustainable
3.2	Global Liquidity and Asset Prices
4.1	Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers
4.2	India: Reinvigorating the Reform Process
4.3	Social Spending, Poverty Reduction, and Debt Relief in Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
5.1	Trends in the Human Development Index
5.2	The Monetary System and Growth During the Commercial Revolution
A.1	Revised Purchasing Power Parity Based Weights for the World Economic Outlook
Tables
	1.1	Overview of the World Economic Outlook Projections
	1.2	Selected Economies: Current Account Positions
	1.3	Advanced Economies: Real GDP, Consumer Prices, and Unemployment
	1.4	Major Industrial Countries: General Government Fiscal Balances and Debt
	1.5	Selected Developing Countries: Real GDP and Consumer Prices
	1.6	Countries in Transition: Real GDP and Consumer Prices
	2.1	Gross Private Financing to Emerging Market Economies
	2.2	Emerging Market Economies: Net Capital Flows
	2.3	General Government Balance
	2.4	External Debt
	2.5	Indonesia, Korea, and Thailand: Sources of Changes in the Fiscal Balance
	2.6	Gross Public Debt in the East Asian Countries
	3.1	Estimates of Potential Stock Market Overvaluation
	3.2	Correlations between Deviations of Actual from Predicted Stock Prices for a Selected Group of Countries, 1985-1999
	3.3	Outstanding Residential Mortgage Debt as a Share of GDP in European Countries
	3.4	Asset Prices as a Leading Indicator of Real GDP and Output Gap
	3.5	Household Equity Holdings as a Percent of Net Wealth
	3.6	Bank Real Estate Lending in Selected Countries
	3.7	Change in Fiscal Balances and Output Growth in the Euro Area
	4.1	Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Average Per Capita Income Growth, 1970-98
	4.2	Developing and Advanced Economies: Education and Health Indicators
	4.3	Developing and Advanced Economies: Macroeconomic Stability
	4.4	Developing and Advanced Economies: Political Stability and Institutions
	4.5	Developing and Advanced Economies: Financial Maturity and Deepening
	4.6	Developing and Advanced Economies: Globalization and Trade Openness
	4.7	Developing and Advanced Economies: Globalization and Trade Volumes and Prices
	4.8	Developing Countries: Poverty and Poverty Reduction
	4.9	HIPCs: Selected Debt Indicators
	4.10	HIPCs: Economic Indicators
	5.1	Changes in Nations' Relative Income Position: 1900-2000
	5.2	Regional GDP per Capita as a Percent of Leading Nation
	5.3	Dispersion of Alternative Measures of Development
	5.4	Public Sector Expenditure Ratios: Total and Transfers
Figures
	1.1	Global Indicators
	1.2	Selected Countries: Net Financial Balances
	1.3	Selected European Countries, Japan, and the United States: Indicators of Consumer and Business Confidence
	1.4	Selected Latin American and Asian Economies: Real GDP Growth
	2.1	Emerging Market Economies: Equity Price
	2.2	Selected Emerging Market Economies: Bilateral U.S. Dollar Exchange Rates
	2.3	Selected Emerging Market Economies: Short-Term Interest Rates
	2.4	Selected Emerging Market Economies: Eurobond Yield Spreads and Brady Bond Spreads
	2.5	Prices of Crude Petroleum and Nonfuel Commodities
	2.6	Selected Emerging Market Economies: Quarterly Real GDP
	2.7	Selected Emerging Market Economies: Claims on Private Sector
	2.8	Selected Latin American and East Asian Economies: Balance of Trade
	2.9	Selected Emerging Market Economies: Real Effective Exchange Rates
	2.10	Selected East Asian and Latin American Economies: Current Account Balance
	2.11	Selected Emerging Market Economies: Total Reserves Excluding Gold
	3.1	Industrial Countries: Output Gap, Real Property Price Change, and Real Equity Price Change
	3.2	Industrial Countries: Real Stock Prices and Real GDP
	3.3	Industrial Countries: Price-Earnings Ratios
	3.4	Industrial Countries: Real Property Prices and Output Gap
	3.5	Industrial Countries: Real Property Prices and Real Interest Rates
	3.6	Industrial Countries: Real Property Prices and Real GDP
	3.7	Industrial Countries: Bank Credit, Real Property Prices, and Net Private Savings
	3.8	Industrial Countries: Real Stock Prices, Real Property Prices, and Real Private Fixed Investment
	3.9	Industrial Countries: Private Investment
	3.10	Industrial Countries: Equity Prices
	3.11	United States: Economic Indicators
	3.12	United States: Interest Rates
	4.1	Advanced and Developing Economies: Per Capita Income
	4.2	Developing Countries: Grouped by Per Capita Income Growth, 1970-98
	4.3	Developing Countries: Population Living Below $1 per Day
	4.4	Developing Countries: Investment and Saving
	4.5	Developing Countries: Per Capita GDP Growth and Incremental Output-Capital Ratio
	4.6	Developing Countries: Economic Indicators
	5.1	World GDP and Population Since 1750
	5.2	Stylized Population Dynamics
	5.3	Factors Underlying Population Growth
	5.4	Differential Income Growth
	5.5	World Lorenz Curve, 1900 and 2000
	5.6	Contraction of World Trade, 1929-33
	5.7	Net Flow of Investment to Developing Countries
	5.8	Capital Account Restrictions, 1950-98
	5.9	Government Deficits, Inflation, and Unemployment in the Group of Seven Countries
	World Economic Outlook and Staff Studies for the World Economic Outlook, Selected Topics, 1992–2000