Monetary magic is no substitute for policies to increase growth

The G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, to be held later this week in Shanghai, should try to drive home the message that cheap money has not been able to resolve the 2008 global financial and economic crisis.

And to avoid a repeat of that disaster, major global policymakers must seize the opportunity the Shanghai meeting offers to generate a new sense of urgency. They should make coordinated policy efforts to boost real economic growth.

Last week, the Organization for Economic and Cooperation Development lowered its forecast of global growth in 2016 from 3.3 percent to 3 percent. For developed countries, the OECD cut growth forecast for the United States by 0.5 percentage point to 2 percent, eurozone by 0.4 percentage point to 1.4 percent and Japan by 0.2 percent to 0.8 percent. For emerging economies, while keeping its forecast for China at 6.5 percent, it trimmed that for Brazil by 2.8 percentage point to - 4.0 percent.