Biography
Naotaka Sugawara is a Senior Economist in the Prospects Group at the World Bank Group.
Previously, he was an economist in the Research Department of the International Monetary Fund and in the World Bank’s Office of the Chief Economist for Europe and Central Asia. He also worked in the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Unit of Europe and Central Asia Region and in the Development Research Group at the World Bank. He has numerous research publications related to economic growth, international economics and finance, fiscal policy, and financial sector development. He received a Master’s degree in International Development from the University of Pittsburgh and a B.A. in Political Science from Meiji University, Tokyo.
Profiles
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Global Growth
- Global growth is expected to slow to 2.5 percent in 2026, down by 0.4 percentage point from the rate in 2025, reflecting the adverse impacts of the conflict in the Middle East, according to the World Bank Group report in June 2026
- Conflict-driven disruptions have led to a downgrade in the forecast since January 2026, but the rate will remain higher by 0.1 percentage point than projected in June 2025
- There are significant downside risks to the outlook, including more severe-than-assumed commodity flow disruptions and substantial financial stress caused by a renewed conflict escalation