The September 2023 Chief Economists Outlook is published amid slowing global momentum and continuing economic uncertainty. Recession concerns appear to have eased, but the outlook remains anaemic as the world grapples with political and financial headwinds. There are some signs of optimism about the easing of inflationary pressures following looser labour market conditions and fading supply-chain pressures. According to a significant majority of chief economists, the weak economic outlook and geopolitical tensions are likely to have a lasting impact on progress towards global development goals in the coming years.

This series of reports draws on the individual and collective perspectives of a group of leading chief economists through consultations with the World Economic Forum’s Chief Economists Community and a regular Chief Economists Survey. This latest edition of the Chief Economists Outlook explores the key trends in the economic environment, including the prospects for growth, inflation and monetary policy. It considers the implications of tighter financial conditions on businesses, households, and financial markets, and takes stock of the global development prospects.

A survey of the World Economic Forum's community of chief risk officers highlights a range of global risks with the potential to threaten economic growth, destabilize global markets and disrupt broader business operations over the next six months.

This first edition of the Chief Risk Officers Outlook launches against a backdrop of economic instability and political tensions. The aim of the outlook is to provide a midyear pulse check from the perspective of on-the-ground risk practitioners, conducted through a new survey of the World Economic Forum’s community of chief risk officers.

The results point to a range of global risks with the potential to threaten economic growth, destabilize global markets and disrupt broader business operations. Chief risk officers expect continuing volatility in geopolitical and geoeconomic relations between major economies, with the majority anticipating upheavals at a global scale over the next six months. Key concerns include risks relating to macroeconomic indicators, pricing and / or supply disruptions of key inputs, armed conflicts and / or use of weapons, and regulatory changes, compliance and enforcement.

The increasing interconnectedness of the world through digital means brings both unparalleled opportunities and challenges. As the digital landscape encompasses more than 5 billion users, it is evident that a shared understanding of online harms is imperative.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Coalition for Digital Safety introduces the Typology of Online Harms, aiming to harmonize universal perceptions of online threats. From cyberbullying to hate speech, the varied interpretations of such issues have fragmented efforts to combat them. This typology seeks to bridge the gap, categorizing harms into content, contact and conduct risks, laying the groundwork for unified action. Rooted in fundamental human rights principles, the framework is neither prescriptive nor regulatory but provides instead a foundational common language to enable global multistakeholder cooperation.

As online threats continue to evolve, the typology presents a vital step forward in achieving a collaborative, rights-respecting approach to digital safety.

To celebrate International Youth Day, the report shines a spotlight on the progress and achievements made by more than 10,000 young innovators, activists, entrepreneurs and changemakers in 2022-2023 across a variety of initiatives.

It demonstrates how members of the Global Shapers Community take action on pressing world issues and are a driver of positive and lasting change in 500 cities and 150 countries and territories worldwide.

This report provides a guide for city leaders considering the development of digital twin cities and insights for entrepreneurs and investors looking to shape the next generation of applications.

It presents preliminary insights and recommendations for building high-quality digital twin cities that can help address pressing urban challenges. The report emphasizes the need for multistakeholder collaboration, a sustainable operational framework, and a transformative sociotechnical programme to deliver on the potential of digital twin city technology.

A series of reports on sector-specific actions that companies should take now to transform their businesses and contribute to reversing nature loss by 2030 – the mission at the heart of the Global Biodiversity Framework.

The Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022, aims to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030. It calls for participation by all stakeholders, including businesses and financial institutions. Every part of the global economy is dependent on nature and its ecosystem services. To take nature-positive action at the scale and speed required, it is crucial for businesses to understand their specific interactions with nature within their sectors.

To help inform these sectoral approaches, the World Economic Forum and Oliver Wyman have released a report series detailing material impacts and dependencies on nature and setting out priority actions within sectors to avoid and reduce the negative impacts, mitigate nature-related risks and unlock opportunities across value chains.

This initiative is a collaboration with Business for Nature and the World Business Council For Sustainable Development, offering sector-specific guidance for 12 global industries. Sector overviews are available on the Business for Nature website.

Global chemicals sales total around $4 trillion a year and provide essential materials for 95% of all manufactured goods worldwide. This report sets out five sector-specific priority actions for the chemical sector to reduce its impact on nature through water use, pollution, GHG emissions and land-use change, and unlock the $320 billion in annual business opportunities by 2030 in the new nature-positive economy.

Household and personal care products are central to our daily lives and generate approximately $700 billion in annual revenues – but comes at the expense of nature. This report sets out five sector-specific priority actions for the household and personal care products sector to reduce its impact on nature through water use and other resources use, pollution, GHG emissions and land-use change, and unlock the $60 billion in annual business opportunities by 2030 in the new nature-positive economy.

After water, concrete is the second most consumed material in the world and, with no scalable substitutes currently available, it is a critical construction material for society – with cement being a key input in its production. This report sets out five sector-specific priority actions for the cement and concrete sector to reduce its impact on nature through water use and other resources use, land use and ecosystem disturbance, GHG emissions and air pollution, and unlock the $40 billion in annual business opportunities by 2030 in the new nature-positive economy.

Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing society worldwide. In the light of numerous risks created by climate change, health is an increasing area of concern.

However, it has rarely been at the centre of climate narratives, with public health policies and climate adaptation interventions often overlooking the health impacts of climate change. If no additional adaptation measures are taken, the burden of climate-sensitive diseases, both infectious and non-communicable, is anticipated to rise significantly. This report is the start of continuous efforts to raise climate action ambition, as well as to address and adapt to the health impacts of climate change – the most detrimental challenge global societies face. Produced by the World Economic Forum and The Rockefeller Foundation, it marks their commitment to work closely with multistakeholder groups to drive collective action for positive change and use their unique position to leverage political, financial, social and human capital to support upstream solutions and protect vulnerable communities.

Cross-border payments enable international trade and globalization but are often costly, slow and opaque. As demand rises for faster, more transparent cross-border transactions and new innovations and players enter the arena, outdated regulatory frameworks pose a key obstacle in meeting the needs of international trade.

This paper identifies the main regulatory frictions hindering efficient and inclusive cross-border payments, including diverging regulatory frameworks, anti-money laundering compliance complexities, restrictive data regulations and inadequate access for non-bank players. It proposes recommendations to advance regulatory interoperability through enhanced cross-border collaborations, modernized frameworks, strengthened cooperation and public-private partnerships. Achieving interoperability will require the public and private sectors to come together in shaping a transparent, efficient and inclusive cross-border payments ecosystem.

This framework gives businesses practical guidance to promote equality of opportunity in systemic ways.

It is designed with and for business leaders who are either in the initial stages of defining their stakeholder impact strategy or are more advanced and would like to understand potential blind spots and learn from others. This framework has been designed with industry experts, civil society and academia.

Access the framework in full screen here →

Climate change is the most significant challenge of this generation, and nowhere is its impact more visible than in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The region has been heating up at twice the global average for the past four decades, and is projected to be 4°C warmer by mid-century. While governments are playing their part in setting up the net-zero ambition and creating an enabling environment, companies need to shoulder the responsibility of delivering sustainability action to move the discourse on climate adaptation forward.

In this context, the World Economic Forum, together with Bain & Company, has convened the Leaders for a Sustainable MENA (LSM) coalition, a group of 40+ high-level participants from ministries, businesses and financial institutions focused on accelerating corporate-led climate action and sustainability-related topics in the region.

This report, developed with the input of LSM members, identifies how best to raise cross-border public-private collaboration in MENA to deliver meaningful outcomes. It highlights the key sustainability challenges in the region and provides a blueprint for bold decarbonization actions that could fuel new economic opportunities.

This insight report, prepared by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Accenture and other key partners, delves into the Global Supply Resilience Initiative (GSRI) – a collective endeavour aimed at promoting resilience through increased visibility in supply chain operations.

The report details the successful implementation of a pilot project with UNICEF that uses real-time data to bolster system performance and help save lives in West Africa.

Harnessing shared data intelligence is key to predictive, responsive, and resilient supply networks. Especially in this era characterized by the escalating challenges of natural disasters, workforce shortages and global conflicts, the resilience of supply chains is more critical than ever.

Its impact goes beyond merely affecting businesses, reaching into the everyday lives and welfare of individuals worldwide. Yet, building global scalable data sharing platforms (beyond proofs of concepts) remains exceptionally challenging.

The GSRI showcases the critical role of open, non-competitive data exchange in bolstering supply chain resilience. It highlights that overcoming organizational hesitations about data sharing, backed by forward-thinking leadership, technological innovation and robust governance, can encourage collective action for the greater good.