1 Recent Economic Developments and the Economic Outlook U.S. economic fundamentals are robust, as indicated by strong growth in gross domestic product (GDP) and a job market that has been surprising on the upside for nearly two years. Smoothing across the first three quarters of this year, real, or inflationadjusted, GDP growth is averaging an annual rate of 3.3 percent.
Foremost in this is our advocacy for microfinance. This program is the most effective tool for democratizing the access of the public to a portion of the nation’s wealth, for empowering the poor and the economicallychallenged group of small entrepreneurs and for scoring a dent on poverty alleviation.