World Bank chief economist proposes new 'Marshal Plan'

WASHINGTON: World Bank's chief economist Justin Lin has called for the establishment of a $2-trillion Global Recovery Fund to help the low-income
countries to cope with the current financial crisis.

Lin, who proposed for the setting up of the massive fund Monday, said it was in "the spirit of Marshall Plan for the development" that would help the low-income economies to invest in the bottleneck areas and achieve sustained growth.

In a speech at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a leading think tank in the United States, Lin warned that the current crisis is the most serious one since the Great Depression in the 1930s.

"Consider this global crisis we encountered now, I think we need to be more aggressive," said the China-born World Bank chief economist, the first person from a developing country to hold this position.

"I'd like to propose a global recovery fund in the spirit of Marshall plan for the development," said Lin, referring to his ambitious plan.