World Bank warns of potential 'lost decade' in global growth

The World Bank has warned that the global economy could face a "lost decade" of growth unless policymakers take bold steps to boost labor supply, productivity, and investment. The bank's report said that average potential global economic growth will slump to a three-decade low of 2.2% per year through 2030, unless concerted efforts are made to reverse the expected broad-based slowdown in potential gross domestic product (GDP) growth. The report also called for changes to remove the current bias toward carbon-intensive goods inherent in many countries’ tariff schedules and eliminate restrictions on access to environmentally friendly goods and services.