Local expert at G-20 summit describes uncertainty
Posted Nov 3, 2011 12:35:22 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A Waterloo-based expert on the global economy, attending the G-20 summit in France, says important economic matters will likely be overshadowed by the uncertainty in Greece.
Gregory Chin, senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, tells 570 News it’s unfortunate that emerging economies showing growth, including those in East Africa, will be overshadowed at the summit unless there is a shift in the agenda. He says he has his fingers crossed that G-20 leaders can give some focus to growing the global economy. “The real question”, he says, “is how to keep global growth going. What’s really important is to keep the emerging economies on the growth path, because they’re the ones actually stimulating global growth these days.”
Chin says that even if Greece accepts the terms of the bailout deal arrived at last week, it may just be delaying the inevitable – a Greek default. Speaking to 570 News from the media centre in Cannes, Chin says France and Germany are faced with a monumental challenge. “If Greece actually defaults, what can be done to minimize the damage, first within Europe, and then globally?”
As for the Greek economy, Chin says the scrapping of the bailout referendum does not mean Greece won’t default – something he says G-20 powers like Germany and France should have a contingency plan for.
