註釋 In 2009, for the first time since the end of World War II, the world economy shrank. This resulted from the economic downturn in highly developed countries and surprised most economists. According to the IMF forecast published in spring 2008, GDP growth in these countries was expected to accelerate from 1.3% in 2008 to 3.8%. In fact, the growth rate was 0.1% in 2008 and minus 3.7% in 2009 (White, 2012). Another surprise was the subsequent poor performance rates reported by the major economies, i.e. the United States and the Eurozone. Five years after the acute phase of the global financial crisis their growth rates have not returned to pre-crisis levels. 