At the end of a global crisis: economic problems of 2017–2019

For ten years now the world has been living under the conditions of a structural crisis. This crisis cannot be described merely by fluctuating production rates, macroeconomic unbalance, or political instability. Its essence lies in the deep transformation that has taken over multiple aspects of life in the world’s leading countries, both developed and developing ones. One could say that it is a crisis of socioeconomic and political identity that has led to the formation of new realities (trends) that are likely to dominate the world for the next few decades to come. Over the decade-long duration of the crisis we have seen episodes of both expansion and contraction, of both acceleration and deceleration. But the key feature of this period is the general instability of all trends, especially economic growth, and the drastic increase in uncertainty around the consequences of both technological innovations and economic policy.