A global recession may be looming, but there is a way out of this rut | Larry Elliott

Last century investment, innovation and greater equality led to a huge rise in productivity. Policies to encourage those are vital now

Great things were expected of the 2020s. After the disappointments of the previous decade, this was to be the time when the global economy powered up and got going again. There would be a flowering of new technologies and a colossal boom. It would be the roaring 20s all over again.

It hasn't worked out like that. Instead, the world faces the grim prospect of a second recession in three years. The three biggest economies - the United States, China and the European Union, which between them account for roughly half of all global output - are slowing at the same time. That's unusual and troubling.

Larry Elliott is the Guardian's economics editor