He looks forward to 2023 with restrained optimism IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gurincha. In an interview with the economic newspaper La Tribune he explains that the IMF he estimates in his latest forecasts that the growth rate of the global economy will be at 2.9%, against the 2.7% he predicted until now. And this as he points out because most national economies have proven much more resilient to shocks than expected and unemployment rates are at historically low levels in the euro zone, the US or the UK. According to the French economist, many risks still lurk, starting with high inflation, the energy crisis and the war in Ukraine. To deal with all this, the economist warns states, already burdened by support measures during the Covid-19 pandemic, of the need to manage their budgets in a way that maintains room for maneuver to reconnect with the economic development, but also to ensure the necessary energy transition.

Asked about the impact of the sanctions against Russia, he says, among other things, that 2023 and 2024 will be difficult years for the Russian economy, which in 2022 was able to adapt to these sanctions, which mainly affected its imports, because it continued to generates income thanks to oil and gas exports, which have remained at high levels.

Asked finally how he sees the pension reform in France, the chief economist of the IMF answers that some structural reforms could support the French economy. He points out that the employment rate of the relatively elderly is low in France and that if it were to increase it could boost the potential growth of the economy.