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WASHINGTON - FOR those losing sleep over the prospect of a global economic slowdown next year, here is an antidote from the Swiss Alps: Take a deep breath and a longer view.
Think 2030, and the trends collated by the Davos, Switzerland-based World Economic Forum (WEF) make plain that stuttering economic growth is not the big issue.
The world is expected to chug along nicely at an average 3 per cent each year, leading to a near doubling of the global GDP in 23 years.
The most pressing concerns two decades ahead will be climate change, depletion of natural resources, terrorism and economic imbalances between countries or regions. A major financial market crash is item No.11 on that list.
In fact, trade will be bountiful, swelling from US$14 trillion (S$20 trillion) today to US$50 trillion, although it is an open question whether the planet is moving towards more protectionist or liberal markets.
These trends, which cover a range of topics from health and education to the environment, were released by the WEF to create an understanding of what the world would look like in a decade or two.
The predictions are based on scenarios drawn up by international institutions and include the WEF's own value addition - a survey of young, high-flying achievers in various fields.
On the WEF's roll of 227 Young Global Leaders, as it calls them, are Cabinet ministers, entrepreneurs, business executives and even media stars.
All of them are under the age of 40 and committed to spending time and energy to working for a better future.
They were selected by a panel of eminent media personalities and chaired by Jordan's Queen Rania.
In the survey, they were asked to identify key trends and risks that would shape the world in 2030. Global warming, followed by the impact of emerging economies, were their top picks.
Interestingly, these young high-achievers were willing to take a bet on Asean.
Some 40 per cent of them thought Asean would be a leading regional organisation in 2030, while 59 per cent said the same of the European Union.
Among other things, when asked to choose a foreign language that they would recommend a 15-year-old to learn, 44 per cent of them chose Chinese, against 39 per cent who picked English.
And when asked to pick countries where they would choose to park their personal investments, they named India, the United States, China and Brazil.
The WEF, a non-profit foundation, hosts a high-profile conference of national leaders, top policymakers and businessmen every year. Next year's annual summit will be held in Davos next month.
bhagya@sph.com.sg
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