We have updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use for Eurasia Group and its affiliates, including GZERO Media, to clarify the types of data we collect, how we collect it, how we use data and with whom we share data. By using our website you consent to our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, including the transfer of your personal data to the United States from your country of residence, and our use of cookies described in our Cookie Policy.
{{ subpage.title }}
A Swiss police officer looks through a binocular to monitor the area during the World Economic Forum 2023 in Davos, Switzerland.
Davos 2023: Same, same, but different
Davos is back to being Davos in more ways than one. After two years of postponement due to the pandemic, and following a smaller, spring-ier version last May, the World Economic Forum is again booming. Organizers boast there are 2,700 leaders from both the public and private sectors in attendance from across at least 130 countries. And the weather feels like the Davos regular attendees remember: snowy, slippery streets, and sub-freezing temperatures.
But there are a few noticeable differences from years past. Thus far, only one leader of a G7 nation, Germany’s Olaf Scholz, is confirmed to attend. China’s Xi Jinping won’t be making the schlep to Switzerland, and neither will US President Joe Biden. By and large, the presence of big tech companies seems slightly subdued, and the word “crypto” isn’t being thrown around like rock salt on the streets this time. (Note: Apparently, actual rock salt is banned here – so you need to be Johnny Weir to cross the street.)
Nearly everyone we’ve talked to on the ground so far has found a way to slip the Forum’s central theme, “Cooperation in a Fragmented World,” into the conversation. That’s meant to conjure up public and private partnerships and the importance of multinational, multistakeholder approaches to what the WEF (and other big thinkers like Adam Tooze) have referred to as “the polycrisis,” a fancy geopolitical way of saying a ton of bad shit is happening to the world all at once.
There is another fragmentation on people’s minds beyond geopolitical divides: the widening inequality gap at a time when the cost of living continues to rise globally, and most indicators of human advancement and development have suffered serious setbacks over the last couple of years. Open questioning of the relevance of Davos, even over sips of free tea and coffee in lounges provided by the United Arab Emirates and India, is not uncommon.
On Monday, a headline from the Forum was a new “Chief Economists Outlook” report that found two-thirds of top economists believe there will be a global recession in 2023, and 91% expect weak or very weak growth for the U.S. this year.
Also, Oxfam released another side of the global story, called “Survival of the Richest,” detailing huge leaps in wealth made by the world’s richest people despite the economic downturn. A summary of the study stated, “During the pandemic and cost-of-living crisis years since 2020, $26 trillion (63 percent) of all new wealth was captured by the richest 1 percent, while $16 trillion (37 percent) went to the rest of the world put together.”
Spoiler alert: The timing was not coincidental.
Can an elite gathering in the Swiss Alps produce meaningful solutions that put societies back on track toward progress? It’s only Day One, so we will keep you posted.
Follow GZERO Media on Instagram for our coverage of the sights and sounds of Davos 2023.
- China is open for business: Chinese Vice Premier at Davos - GZERO Media ›
- US protectionism could trigger "war of subsidies" with Europe - GZERO Media ›
- Russia's tragic brutality and the humbling of the West - GZERO Media ›
- Davos 2023: We're in polycrisis - GZERO Media ›
- Demystifying Davos: Behind the scenes with GZERO & Microsoft - GZERO Media ›
- Podcast: Davos, meet humility: grappling with Russia & egregious violations of international law - GZERO Media ›
- Watch our Davos event on Jan. 18: Making AI Work for the World - GZERO Media ›
Economic historian Adam Tooze on the post-pandemic global economy
If 2020 was a dry run for our next big economic disaster, how'd we do? Ian Bremmer spoke to economic historian Adam Tooze about what lessons can be learned from this dark time, as well as his new book Shutdown: How COVID Shook the World Economy.
Watch this episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer: How the COVID-damaged economy surprised Adam Tooze
- Podcast: The COVID-damaged global economy surprised Adam ... ›
- Latin America faces post-pandemic "lost decade," says economic ... ›
- What saved the global economy from another Great Depression ... ›
- Is a second great depression coming? Adam Tooze on international ... ›
- Why "cheap money" is worrying billionaire US investor Ray Dalio - GZERO Media ›
- How can small businesses thrive after COVID? - GZERO Media ›
- How to get students back on track after the Great Education Disruption - GZERO Media ›
An economic historian's biggest lesson learned from the pandemic so far
For economic historian Adam Tooze, the biggest lesson learned from COVID so far is we need to invest in a tech-driven science apparatus as insurance against a future similar public health crisis that can kill millions and wipe out 20 percent of GDP in just months, a risk we didn't take seriously enough. "We do have a magic wand, we do have the silver bullet, and we should be doubling down on that." Watch his interview with Ian Bremmer on the latest episode of GZERO World.
Watch this episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer:How the COVID-damaged economy surprised Adam Tooze
- The surprising history of disaster - GZERO Media ›
- Can small islands save themselves from climate change? - GZERO ... ›
- How the Moderna vaccine works, why it's effective, and how it'll be ... ›
- How will we deal with the next pandemic? - GZERO Media ›
- Geoengineering: science fiction or a solution to the climate crisis ... ›
Making sense of our new global economy
If billionaires shooting off into space because their net worth has jumped 60 percent sounds cringeworthy to you, you're not alone. Indeed, the pandemic hasn't been kind to the 120 million people into extreme poverty. Nor to the global economy as a whole, which stands to lose $2.3 trillion by 2025 due to vaccine inequality.
Even in the US, the vaccination rate is high but poor people still lack access to education, childcare, and healthcare. Still, despite these inequalities, America's economy has rebounded quickly. But we may not be fully back in the black quite yet. Economists disagree about how long rising inflation and supply chain shortages may last, and we're a long way off from vaccinating the world's poorest populations. Also, we face the twin threats of COVID variants and reduced vaccine efficacy over time.
Watch the episode: How the COVID-damaged economy surprised Adam Tooze
Inflation panicking is 1970s hangover, says economic historian Adam Tooze
Why are so many people panicking about rising inflation these days? For economic historian Adam Tooze, it's "sort of undigested legacy of the trauma of the 1970s," the last time the US and Western Europe experienced high-sky inflation, and we're still "working off the hangover from 50 years ago." Watch his interview with Ian Bremmer on the latest episode of GZERO World.
Watch this episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer:How the COVID-damaged economy surprised Adam Tooze
- What saved the global economy from another Great Depression ... ›
- The Graphic Truth: 50 years of US inflation vs interest rates - GZERO ... ›
- Will Biden's spending bring inflation back from the dead? - GZERO ... ›
- S2 Episode 2: Inflation, interest rates, and economic recovery ... ›
- Think buying American will help ease inflation? Larry Summers says it won’t - GZERO Media ›
Should the US cancel student loan debt?
Joe Biden has already cancelled more US student than any other president. But progressive Democrats want him to write off a lot more to reduce the racial wealth gap and help people recover better from COVID's economic ruin. Republicans are against all this because it would be unfair to current and future borrowers and to taxpayers footing the bill, not to mention subsidizing the rich.
Watch this episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer: How the COVID-damaged economy surprised Adam Tooze
- The Democrats run Washington – so what are they scared of ... ›
- Will the US debt ceiling debate cause a government shutdown ... ›
- Studying in a pandemic: The plight of international students in ... ›
- The Graphic Truth: Who sends the most students to the US ... ›
- $10,000 in student loan forgiveness: what's the point? - GZERO Media ›
- Biden forgives (some) US student loan debt - GZERO Media ›
- The Graphic Truth: Who pays most/least for college tuition? - GZERO Media ›
- The Graphic Truth: Who pays most/least for college tuition? - GZERO Media ›
Latin America faces post-pandemic "lost decade," says economic historian Adam Tooze
As the US economy powers ahead to recover from COVID, many developing economies are getting further left behind — especially those in Latin America. Economic historian Adam Tooze says the region, which did relatively well during the global recession, is now "looking at a lost decade." Watch his interview with Ian Bremmer on the latest episode of GZERO World.
Watch this episode of GZERO World with Ian Bremmer:How the COVID-damaged economy surprised Adam Tooze
- The Graphic Truth: Poverty Reduction in Latin America - GZERO ... ›
- Women in power: Chile's Michelle Bachelet - GZERO Media ›
- Mexico vote will test support for López Obrador's agenda of change ... ›
- Bolsonaro's Brazil is divided and in crisis - GZERO Media ›
- What saved the global economy from another Great Depression ... ›
- The pandemic’s impact on women and the global economy - GZERO Media ›
How the COVID-damaged economy surprised Adam Tooze
The pandemic hit the global economy hard, and many economies are still hurting. But it could have been even worse. In May 2020, economic historian Adam Tooze told GZERO World that the world was facing a second Great Depression. Now in a new interview with Ian Bremmer, Tooze is back to explain why the US economy rebounded so surprisingly fast, while much of the rest of the world lags behind.
- What saved the global economy from another Great Depression ... ›
- Christine Lagarde, leading Europe's united economic pandemic ... ›
- Is a second great depression coming? Adam Tooze on international ... ›
- Why China's sneeze is giving the world economy chills - GZERO ... ›
- Record US inflation levels worsen Americans' view of the economy - GZERO Media ›
- How can small businesses thrive after COVID? - GZERO Media ›