With heightened economic uncertainty and increasingly decentralized threats, regional understanding of risks 鈥 and the opportunity for cooperation 鈥 is critical.
Results from the World Economic Forum鈥檚 2019 Executive Opinion Survey suggest that the threat of a major economic slowdown is high on the minds of business leaders worldwide, with growing apprehension about a wide range of geopolitical shock.
Globally, three of the top five risks identified by executives are economic-related, with 鈥渇iscal crises鈥 topping the list, and 鈥渦nemployment or underemployment鈥 and 鈥渆nergy price shock鈥 ranking as third and fourth, respectively. Fears of an 鈥渁sset bubble鈥 and 鈥渇ailure of critical infrastructure鈥 are new entrants to the 2019 global top ten.
Global risks of most concern to business leaders for their country
Concerns about interstate conflict grew significantly since the 2018 survey results, while, domestically, ineffective national governance and mounting social instability continue to be recognized as among the most critical threats to doing business.
Further, 鈥渃yber-attacks鈥 and 鈥渄ata fraud or theft鈥 remain key priorities for executives globally, and those in advanced economies have become increasingly concerned by a broader set of technological risks, most notably 鈥渂reakdown in critical information infrastructure鈥 and the 鈥渕isuse of technology.鈥
While environmental risks don鈥檛 break into the global top ten, they are critical to executives in North America and East Asia and the Pacific. Businesses in both areas saw 鈥渘atural catastrophes鈥 and 鈥渆xtreme weather events鈥 as serious threats, but US government鈥檚 reticent stance towards combating climate change has also propelled 鈥渇ailure of climate change adaptation鈥 to top ten in North America.
These are headline findings from聽Regional Risks for Doing Business 2019. Developed by the World Economic Forum (WEF) in partnership with Marsh & McLennan, the report offers a business perspective on the impact of global risks and illustrates how they are experienced differently in each region. It draws on the results of the WEF鈥檚 2019 Executive Opinion Survey of nearly 13,000 business leaders in 133 countries, who were asked to select 鈥渢he five global risks that you believe to be of most concern for doing business in your country within the next 10 years.鈥
The Regional Risks for Doing Business聽is part of an expanded risks workstream, anchored by the聽Global Risks Report, which enables global stakeholders to identify common concerns, detect potential blind spots and promote coordinated risk mitigation.
