Happi Staff12.19.20
Black swans notwithstanding, 2021 should be a good year, according to results of the latest McKinsey Global Survey on the economy. Executives are ending a year of global crisis and profound uncertainty on a relatively positive note. Their predictions for the future, and for their own companies’ prospects, remain much more optimistic than not. Executives in Europe, North America, and developing markets report more acute concerns than others about the economy, and those in Europe remain especially worried about unemployment. But even these respondents are less downbeat than they were in the previous quarter, according to McKinsey. At the same time, executives cite a couple of growing risks to their companies’ growth in 2021: industry-wide competition and disruptions.
Looking ahead to next year, respondents’ expectations for their home economies are increasingly positive: 63% say economic conditions in their countries will be better six months from now, up from 54% who said the same in mid-October. Meanwhile, the global outlook has bounced back. After some peaks and valleys in recent surveys, 61% of respondents now predict global conditions will improve in the months ahead. What’s more, respondents are the likeliest they’ve been in the last three years to expect the global economy’s growth rate will increase. Sixty-eight percent predict increasing growth now, with only 24% predicting a contraction—the smallest share to say so all year, notes McKinsey.
Looking ahead to next year, respondents’ expectations for their home economies are increasingly positive: 63% say economic conditions in their countries will be better six months from now, up from 54% who said the same in mid-October. Meanwhile, the global outlook has bounced back. After some peaks and valleys in recent surveys, 61% of respondents now predict global conditions will improve in the months ahead. What’s more, respondents are the likeliest they’ve been in the last three years to expect the global economy’s growth rate will increase. Sixty-eight percent predict increasing growth now, with only 24% predicting a contraction—the smallest share to say so all year, notes McKinsey.