Chapter 1 - The balancing of accounts and sustainable economic growth
The global economic situation appeared to have been boosted by a cyclical recovery that began in mid-2016, intensified in 2017 and peaked in 2018 due to positive growth. Since mid-2018, however, the issue of political risk has become ever present. Such risk has the potential to influence the choices of international investors, move markets and lower the rate of global growth. The International Monetary Fund declared a decline in global expansion. World economic growth for 2018 was estimated at +3.6% and is expected to sit at +3.3% in 2019.
In 2018 the European economy proved to be very fragile. In the second half of 2018, production activity declined significantly across the Eurozone as a result of the downturn in world trade growth, in a climate where confidence was compromised by uncertainty. Output in some Member States was hampered by temporary domestic factors such as disruptions in car production, social tensions and uncertainties in fiscal policy. Accordingly, the growth of Gross Domestic Product in both the Eurozone and the EU slipped to 1.9% in 2018 and is estimated at 1.2 % in 2019.
2018 marked the fifth consecutive year of Italy's economic growth, yet indicated a slowdown compared to 2017: +0.9% in 2018 and is forecasted at +0.1% for 2019.
Veneto's GDP growth was estimated at 1.1% in 2018, slightly above the national average. Domestic demand increased by 1.4%, more due to the rise in investments, +4.3%, than due to the rise in household consumption, +0.8%. The result of 2018 is attributable to the Veneto industry's good performance, which saw a 2.3% increase in added value, the recovery of the construction sector and a positive, but subdued, performance of services. Despite not having reached the pre-crisis levels of 2007, the main economic variables have developed positively in recent years, mainly due to the region's capacity for autonomous growth. The following factors encourage growth: the local area's distinctive technological, infrastructural and logistical features, the deep-rooted entrepreneurial approach of locally-based company management, and the particular productivity of the area's workforce, or in other words, simply the conscientious mindset of the people of Veneto.
