Lagarde: Take reform much more seriously

The world’s policymakers must take economic reforms more seriously, or they could see their economies stuck in a muddle of mediocre growth with high debt and unemployment, the head of the International Monetary Fund said yesterday.

IMF managing director Christine Lagarde said her advice had not changed much since six months ago — the last time the world’s finance ministers and central bankers gathered in Washington for the IMF and World Bank meetings — but more threats loomed on the horizon.

“The latest snapshot of the global economy looks uneasily familiar: A brittle, uneven recovery, with slower-than-expected growth and increasing downside risks,” Ms Lagarde said in her Global Policy Agenda that lays out priorities for the IMF and its 188 member countries.