The World Economy in 2004

Like Germany, France had also been one of the laggards in the European Union. France had struggled to introduce sweeping reforms though in recent times, the resolve of the government seemed to have increased. Reform of the health-insurance system had also become an urgent need, with health costs having gone through the roof...

Since the currency crisis of 1997-98, Asian countries had staged a smart recovery. In mid-2003, the central banks of Japan, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea, seemed to be sitting pretty on a pile of foreign exchange reserves.

Global trade had grown over the years. During the 1990s, protests against globalization, though vocal, had been relatively ineffective. Political pressure for protectionism in rich countries was subdued as economies boomed...

Exhibit I: Output, Demand and Jobs
Exhibit II: Money and Interest rates
Exhibit III: Trade, Exchange Rates and Budgets
Exhibit IV: Stock Markets
Exhibit V: Economy
Exhibit VI: Financial Markets