As a result of these crises, and in collaboration with other international agencies and with national authorities, the Fund conducted a far-reaching review of the so-called “international financial architecture”. Numerous initiatives were adopted over recent years with the aim of lessening the frequency and cost of crises and of improving the stability of the international monetary system. Accordingly, there has been a notable effort to increase the transparency of member countries’ economic policies and to improve the information at the disposal of economic agents and, in particular, international financial markets so that the latter may exert market discipline more effectively. Specific measures have been adopted to reinforce financial systems. And it has also been sought to improve the crisis prevention and crisis resolution mechanisms available to the international financial community, including those particularly difficult cases in which sovereign debt restructuring proves inevitable. Moreover, instead of relying on exhaustive international regulations which, as experience has shown, are difficult to approve and even harder to implement, all these reforms have relied on voluntarily mechanisms, based frequently on the adoption of codes of best practices, international standards and systems that offer incentives for their application.
The spread of the Delta variant has so far not required lockdown measures to be reimposed. But it could slow the recovery in global trade and the full reopening of the economy. Consumer spending is increasing, although consumers remain somewhat cautious in the light of the pandemic developments. The labour market is also improving rapidly, which holds out the prospect of higher incomes and greater spending. Unemployment is declining and the number of people in job retention schemes has fallen by about 28 million from the peak last year. The 1/3  BIS central bankers' speeches  recovery in domestic and global demand is further boosting optimism among firms, which is supporting business investment. At the same time, there remains some way to go before the damage to the economy caused by the pandemic is overcome. There are still more than two million fewer people employed than before the pandemic, especially among the younger and lower skilled. The number of workers in job retention schemes also remains substantial. To support the recovery, ambitious, targeted and coordinated fiscal policy should continue to complement monetary policy. In particular, the Next Generation EU programme will help ensure a stronger and uniform recovery across euro area countries. It will also accelerate the green and digital transitions, support structural reforms and lift long-term growth. We expect the economy to rebound firmly over the medium term. Our new staff projections foresee annual real GDP growth at 5.0 per cent in 2021, 4.6 per cent in 2022 and 2.1 per cent in 2023.