Wifo expects international GDP to rise until 2017

Economic growth worldwide is expected to increase by about four percent per year until 2017, says the Austrian economic think tank Wifo. In a statement, Wifo pointed out that this would be similar to the 2002-2007 timeframe, where the gross domestic product (GDP) rose yearly by around 4.3 percent. But the think tank warned against too many austerity measures, as they could have a negative effect on global growth. The EU member states would be among the slowest to recover from the economic and financial crisis, said the institute. It predicted a modest plus of 1.4 percent per year for the 27 EU countries between 2012 and 2017. The biggest problems in the industrialized countries were high budget deficits and the increasing national debts, said wifo, as well as the "dramatic increase" in unemployment. It pointed out that the austerity policy and euro currency crisis had greatly dampened demand, which had in turn slowed down GDP growth.