Current government austerity policies in the U.S. and Europe appear to be lowering GDP through reduced government spending and increased taxes. At the same time, central banks in developed countries around the world continue efforts to boost economic growth with unprecedented accommodative monetary policies.
Despite entering a fifth year of such extraordinary measures, real GDP growth in the U.S. and the EU has struggled to reach escape velocity. U.S. GDP grew 2.5% in 2012, and the consensus forecast is for less than 2% in 2013. Since the recession of 2008-09, global GDP has remained fairly stable (around 3.5%) as other emerging regions have made up for slowing growth rates in developed countries. North America and Europe have declined from making up 62% of global GDP in 2005 to 57% today.