cyclical factors may also be playing a role. activity in advanced economies has remained below trend since 2009. additional drags include the tightening of fiscal and monetary policies in certain countries to control inflation and counteract disequilibria from expansionary stances undertaken in the own calculations based on ppp - adjusted data for 32 advanced and 29 emerging - market countries, from feenstra, et al. ( 2013 ), “ the next generation of the penn world table ” available for download at www. ggdc. net / pwt. bis central bankers ’ speeches wake of the crisis. this, in turn, has implied stricter banking measures and slower credit growth in some cases. lower commodity prices have also recently hit some nations. in short, emerging economies find themselves facing a new environment, where some of the factors they had counted on to buoy growth may no longer be available. to the extent that both structural and cyclical factors may not support exceptional expansion, emerging economies face new challenges if they desire to enhance sustainable economic growth. the u. s. economic recovery, on the other hand, appears to have gained traction and seems relatively more robust in the face of possibly adverse external conditions, as the upturn is backed by solid domestic demand. labor markets have improved significantly, with the unemployment rate crossing the threshold that had previously been cited by the federal reserve as a reference for eventual monetary normalization. drops in unemployment have repeatedly surpassed federal open market committee ( fomc ) forecasts. strong for some time, the united kingdom is another economy that has been doing well. however, the incipient recovery in the eurozone has recently stalled. additionally, japan ’ s economy appears to have stumbled, largely due to a hike in the consumption tax. the consensus among analysts is that the world economy will see a moderate pickup during the rest of this year and the next, with the united states taking the lead. emerging economies are expected to gradually improve, with growth remaining above those of advanced economies but below rates enjoyed a decade ago. given more optimism on u. s. prospects, the most favored countries would appear to be those closely linked to that economy. 2 downside risks to this scenario for the emerging economies include first, lower - thanexpected advanced - nation recoveries. second, further significant drops in commodity prices could pose difficulties for export income and the public finances of some countries. during the last few weeks, oil prices, for example, have fallen to levels

amounts to about 27 percent of gdp, one of the lowest ratios among emerging markets. surprisingly, manufacturing makes a stagnant contribution to growth in aggregate productivity. inadequate infrastructure may help explain this. finally, labor productivity gains in agriculture, given emigration, are lower than expected. institutional rigidities which inhibit scale and technological adoption could play a role. 5 the negative implications of the absence of competition are evident in the energy sector, which until recently was the exclusive terrain of government - owned enterprises. in the last few years, despite ample natural fields, mexican crude oil and natural gas production has been declining. this contrasts with a revolution in production in countries such as the united states. even further, mexico cannot import enough natural gas cheaply because of a limited pipeline network. due in part to lack of availability of cheap natural gas supplies, mexican electricity prices, on average, approach twice u. s. rates. 6 another example is the telecoms sector, which has faced limited competition. as a result, the penetration of fixed - line and mobile phone services is still low by international standards. additionally, indicators for internet services suggest that the services are inferior to those available in many nations. mexico ’ s current reform agenda seeks to tackle many of these inefficiencies. the agenda covers a wide range of sectors, including labor, education, finance, telecoms, and energy. generating the most interest for investors are the changes in the telecommunications and energy sectors. in telecoms, reforms now allow players to offer triple - play services, provided market non - concentration requirements are met. limits on fdi have been reduced. in energy, the gates are now open to private agents, with contracts in exploration and extraction for oil and hydrocarbons allowed. permits in gas processing and oil refining, transportation, storage, distribution, and commercialization are also provided for, as is participation in electricity generation and sales. well implemented, these reforms could boost productivity in laggard sectors in the medium term. to the extent that some of them provide essential inputs to the economy as a whole, overall efficiency gains may be realized. to reap the full benefits from the reforms, other complementary measures should be taken, such as strengthening the rule of law, improving public security, and fortifying infrastructure. economic developments and outlook after a year and a half of weakness, the mexican economy started to pick up this year. second - quarter figures were strong, and several recent indicators suggest momentum is sanchez, m. ( 2013