GENEVA, 16 April. - (ANA) - As the growth strategies that powered the global economy over the past three decades lose relevance, a new World Economic Forum report calls for a renewed blueprint to navigate a rapidly evolving landscape shaped by AI, geostrategic competition, rising debt and inequality, and mounting environmental and demographic pressures. The report draws on two years of dialogue with nearly 200 global business leaders, policy-makers and experts, and a survey of more than 11,000 executives worldwide.

 

Across four major areas of economic policy, Growth in the New Economy: Towards a Blueprint identifies key “no-regret” strategies and open dilemmas for governments and businesses that will define economic policy in the coming decade:

 

- Technology, productivity and human capital: Sustained growth in the new economy will depend on strengthening productivity and human capital as technology and knowledge become central to value creation. Governments and businesses must navigate between different approaches to translating innovation into new sources of growth and ensuring its benefits are widely shared, pursuing coordinated or competition-led approaches to harness technology and prioritize redistribution or mobility-based strategies for economic inclusion.

 

- Global cooperation and domestic capacity: Leveraging comparative advantage and diversification remain “no-regret” strategies that may enable expansion of economic opportunity and resilience. Yet, governments and businesses will need to balance global engagement with stronger domestic capacity, navigating between self-reliance and global integration strategies.

 

- Business environment and the role of government: In the new economy, reinforcing the fundamentals of economic policy – including credible institutions, high-quality infrastructure and macroeconomic stability – and strengthening multistakeholder alignment continue to be winning strategies. The role of government in economic transformation can range from minimal to more expansive, while policy-makers face hard choices to manage debt levels, shifting between greater fiscal prudence and forms of financial repression.

 

- Sustainability and economic policy: Focusing on the economic and societal benefits of green transition strategies is essential to unlocking long-term prosperity and resilience. Critical dilemmas around how to manage the costs and trade-offs of greener growth persist, with decision-makers navigating a range of investment-led and cost-led strategies.

 

“The current context demands bold choices and trade-offs from government and businesses. Investing in productivity, talent and reinforcing the fundamentals of economic policy are clear winning strategies that hold across every country and income level,” said Attilio Di Battista, Head of Economic Growth and Transformation, World Economic Forum. “Yet, leaders will need to navigate complex dilemmas while managing record levels of debt and inequalities, rising geostrategic competition, a persisting climate crisis and the fastest technological shift in a generation.”   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/16 April 2026 - - -