The global recovery has become increasingly widespread over the past year, despite progressing at variable speeds across countries and regions. Global output growth is expected to be around 4¾ per cent this year and in 2011, above the growth rate experienced in the decade prior to the onset of the crisis (Table 1.1). In the non-OECD economies, especially in Asia, the recovery is likely to remain buoyant, with the strong macroeconomic policy response to the financial crisis being rolled back only gradually, and a limited direct exposure to the crisis itself and to the associated lingering effects. Sustaining and broadening the recovery is proving somewhat more challenging in many OECD economies, despite the favourable backdrop from strong external demand, the progressive, if fragile, normalisation of financial conditions and the effects of strong, albeit diminishing, macroeconomic policy stimulus. Headwinds stem from the legacies of the crisis, such as weak private and public balance sheets, high unemployment and the increasingly urgent need for fiscal consolidation. The annual rate of output growth in the OECD area is expected to be around 2¾ per cent over the year to the fourth quarter...