In their presentation f the report yesterday, the World Bank representatives highlighted that 2009 has been a difficult year, with “larger-than-expected losses in output and employment, and a sharp rise in poverty”.
Still, the report outlines positive prospects for the Russian economy. The negative trends are slowly being turned and 2010 could see economic growth of 3,2 percent, the report authors maintained. The prognosis for 2009 remains highly negative however. The bank believes the Russian GDP this year will drop 8,7 percent.
At the same time, the report highlights the need for comprehensive reforms. “Without a more productive, diversified, and competitive economic base, its long-term growth is likely to be slower than in the past decade and than the pre-crisis expectation”, a press release from the bank reads.
-The post-crisis world will be very different [from the pre-crisis period]: Russia will need to implement fiscal adjustment and diversify its economy in the context of sluggish global growth, low capital flows, and more limited access to foreign financing, said Klaus Rohland, World Bank’s Country Director for Russia.
