The economic outlook for 2016 What can we expect in 2016 from the world economy? f the mainstream forecasters are right slightly better than last year. The International Monetary Fund, for example, forecasts growth of 3.6% this year after 3.1% in 2015. Last year's figure is rather sluggish; this year's stronger but still not all that impressive. The IMF will produce an updated forecast later this month, but the agency's managing director, Christine Lagarde, warned that this year will be disappointing. The recovery from the Great Recession, which followed the international financial crisis, continues. China's slowdown The other big issue is China's slowing economic growth. t could not have been sustained indefinitely at the annual average of 10% that the official data shows for the 30 years up to 2010. Throughout the slowdown, which began around the start of the current decade, the