U.S. economic power is declining!
ISTANBUL, Turkey - October 4, 2009 - U.S. economic power is declining as a result of the financial crisis, the head of the World Bank has said.
"One of the legacies of this crisis may be a recognition of changed economic power relations," said World Bank president Robert Zoellick.
The U.S., the world's biggest economy, has been in Depression for almost two years, while emerging economies like China and Brazil have grown.
This may help bring about a long-term rebalancing of the world economy.
"A multi-polar economy less reliant on the U.S. consumer will be a more stable world economy," Zoellick said.
He was speaking in Istanbul before meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), where there is some discussion about how to reorganize the leadership of the bodies so that they better reflect the diversified world.
For example, China recently got a permanent chair on the IMF's 24-seat policy-making committee.
Finance ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) richest nations - the United States, Japan, Germany, UK, France, Canada, and Italy - have also been meeting in Istanbul.
The G7 said the world economy was improving but "there is no room for complacency since the prospects for growth remain fragile and labor market conditions are not yet improving."
Unemployment in the U.S. on Friday surged to a new 26-year high of 9.8%.
"One of the legacies of this crisis may be a recognition of changed economic power relations," said World Bank president Robert Zoellick.
The U.S., the world's biggest economy, has been in Depression for almost two years, while emerging economies like China and Brazil have grown.
This may help bring about a long-term rebalancing of the world economy.
"A multi-polar economy less reliant on the U.S. consumer will be a more stable world economy," Zoellick said.
He was speaking in Istanbul before meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), where there is some discussion about how to reorganize the leadership of the bodies so that they better reflect the diversified world.
For example, China recently got a permanent chair on the IMF's 24-seat policy-making committee.
Finance ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) richest nations - the United States, Japan, Germany, UK, France, Canada, and Italy - have also been meeting in Istanbul.
The G7 said the world economy was improving but "there is no room for complacency since the prospects for growth remain fragile and labor market conditions are not yet improving."
Unemployment in the U.S. on Friday surged to a new 26-year high of 9.8%.
