“The January 2017 Global Economic Prospects forecasts a subdued recovery in 2017 after the weakest year since the financial crisis. The pickup in growth is expected to come from the receding of obstacles that have recently held back growth among commodity exporters, and from solid domestic demand in commodity importers.  Major emerging economies—including Russia and Brazil—are anticipated to recover from recession as commodity prices bottom out. A significant concern clouding the outlook is that weak investment—whether building transport infrastructure, improving education systems, or strengthening health care facilities—will be a drag on the medium-term growth prospects in many emerging markets and developing economies. The balance of risks skews to possibilities that could result in slower growth than anticipated, principally due to heightened uncertainty about the direction of economic policies in major economies. However, there is also the potential that growth could exceed expectations if fiscal stimulus is implemented in major economies. World economic growth is projected to pick up to 2.7 percent in 2017 from a sluggish rate of 2.3 percent in the year just ended. East Asia and the Pacific and South Asia—emerging and developing economy regions that are home to many commodity-importing economies—are projected to experience solid growth. India is seen as sustaining a growth rate above 7 percent, while China is anticipated to expand 6.5 percent. The picture is mixed for regions populated by commodity exporters. Latin America and the Caribbean and Europe and Central Asia are expected to gain steam in 2017, but this is principally due to improving fortunes in recession-plagued Brazil and Russia. Recovering oil prices will spur faster output in the Middle East and North Africa.”