By IANS,
Noida: The financial imbalance in the world economy is one of the major causes of the current global meltdown, according to noted economist Lord Meghnad Desai.
The message of Desai, Professor emeritus of London School of Economics, was read out at the brainstorming session organised by the Global Economic Forum (GEF) here Monday on After-effects of financial meltdown: World economy five years ahead.
Desai was to attend the event and sum up the discussions in which a number of experts participated but could not.
He said the current economic crisis was different from what the world faced in 1980 or 1997-98. This time the financial system has collapsed, he said.
“The present crisis is different… because it is a double combination of a breakdown in the financial system and a recession in the real economy,” said Desai.
“The global financial architecture needs reform and the IMF (International Monetary Fund) may need to be restructured to achieve this. Then any financial surpluses will be recycled not via the US but via the IMF.”
Earlier, speaking in the brainstorming session organised at the Amity University campus, Ambassador of the European Commission Daniele Smadja emphasised that groups of nations such as G-8 could play a crucial role in handling the financial meltdown.
She said the international community should come together to deal with the economic crisis.