With growth in Europe and Central Asia having peaked at 2.7 percent in 2017, policy makers face new challenges. How can they navigate the expected cyclical downturn? How can
they boost underlying potential growth that has slowed, especially since the global financial crisis? How should they adjust regulations and reform policies to benefit from the digital revolution while mitigating the transition costs? This report summarizes the economic
outlook for the region and examines the adoption of new blockchain technologies. In doing
so, it touches on all three challenges.