'We are not in the same place that we were before the crisis. There's a structural shift taking place in the world economy,' said Mr Tharman in a panel discussion on Fareed Zakaria GPS, a CNN programme that aired yesterday. -- ST PHOTO: ARTHUR LEE CH
THE global economy may be on the mend, but the world will no longer be the same as before the crisis, said Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam yesterday.
Western economies will see major adjustments to consumer spending and saving, and debt-ridden governments will also have to work hard to balance their books.
'We are not in the same place that we were before the crisis. There's a structural shift taking place in the world economy,' said Mr Tharman in a panel discussion on Fareed Zakaria GPS, a CNN programme that aired yesterday.
This means that Asia will have to pick up the slack, but building up Asian consumers' confidence to make up for the lower demand will also take time, added the minister.
That is why the world will have to expect growth to be slower overall for the next five to eight years, he said.
Mr Tharman was part of a panel discussion that included French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, head of the White House Economic Council Lawrence Summers, and International Monetary Fund managing director Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
