One such development was the changed perceptions about the world economic outlook in 1999 and 2000. If you remember, 1998 was a weak year for the world economy, largely because of the widespread fallout from the Asian crisis.
At the beginning of this year, things looked as though they were getting worse, and most forecasters – public and private – expected 1999 to be weaker than 1998. In the event, it turned out the other way – 1999 has been better than 1998, and 2000 should be better again.