Messy Policies for a Messy World

Over the last half century, economic policy making has always had to cope with economic situations that are somewhat messy and uncertain. This challenge has become more daunting over time as issues and shocks to address have proliferated along with the increasing integration and liberalization of the world economy. What I will try to do today is to sketch some of the manifestations of the increased integration of the world economy, identify the key issues and shocks that policy makers have to deal with at present, and outline what policies are underway and should be expected to bring "strong, sustained, balanced growth", to use the same words as the G-20 communiqués. All along I will try to indicate the interdependencies between problems and policies that make the present economic situation particularly complicated for economists and policy makers to deal with. Presented at the Ottawa Economics Association's Annual Policy Conference in Ottawa, ON.