The G20 finance ministers meeting in Brisbane has endorsed plans for boosting global growth that go well beyond their earlier target of 2 per cent.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The so-called "Sydney declaration" adopted in February committed them to boost their combined gross domestic product by 2 per cent over five years.
On Saturday in Brisbane the ministers reviewed more than 1000 measures proposed to achieve the goal and concluded that if each was enacted their combined GDP would climb by 2.1 per cent. The increase in global economic activity amounts to around $2 trillion dollars.
In addition, so-called "positive spillovers" would boost the rest of the global economy by another 0.5 per cent.
Spillovers are unlikely where a single nation attempts to boost its economy on its own but are highly likely where a number of big countries do it together as happened during the global financial crisis.
Not counted in the 2.1 per cent total is a further stimulus package worth 300 billion euro ($400 billion) due to be announced by European leaders within days.
G20 finance ministers became aware of plans for the package as they were meeting. Treasurer Joe Hockey hinted about an extra big announcement when he said the prime minister Tony Abbott would "say more about this tomorrow following the leaders' meeting".
The ministers believe that Europe's announcement is not the only one likely in coming weeks, creating the possibility of a cascade of announcements as more countries decide to boost their economies at the same time as the world's 20 biggest.
"I want to emphasise that my finance minister colleagues and I are resolute in our determination to use all policy levers to generate growth and jobs," Mr Hockey said after the finance ministers meeting.
The measures the world's leading 20 economies have committed to include lifting infrastructure investment, boosting trade and competition, cutting red tape and bringing more people into the workforce.
The G20 ministers collected separate commitments from five nations to help fund a Sydney-based "infrastructure hub" proposed by the treasurer to help smooth cross-country infrastructure investments.
The United Kingdom, New Zealand, Korea, Singapore and Saudi Arabia have agreed to help fund the hub and further commitments are expected on Sunday.
In summing up the work done in the meeting Mr Hockey commended the idea of action against so-called "patent boxes" in which nations, including Ireland, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom, persuade firms such as Google and Apple to register patents in their jurisdictions in return for special tax treatment for profits they say were earned as a result of those patents.
