consumption of goods such as automobiles and recreational goods ( e. g., video game machines and televisions ) is firm due to the materialization of pent - up demand and a shift from demand for services. on the other hand, weakness in consumption of services is evident, mainly in face - to - face services, including dining - out, accommodations, and entertainment. this trend is also observed in china, where economic activity resumed earlier than elsewhere. the international monetary fund ( imf ), in the world economic outlook released in october 2020, revised upward its projection for global growth for 2020 by 0. 8 percentage point, from minus 5. 2 percent to minus 4. 4 percent. by country and region, there are variations ; while the estimates for developed economies and china were revised upward, those for emerging economies, including india, were revised downward. as demand for tourism and travel has fallen even more steeply compared with other face - to - face services, it is highly likely that the impact of covid - 19 will be prolonged and the pace of improvement will be only moderate in countries and regions where travel income has a large share in the economy. indeed, when we look at the economic growth estimates in the autumn 2020 economic forecast released by the european commission this month, that for the euro area in 2020 turned out to be higher than that released in the summer, while those for spain and malta, where tourism and other services sectors have large shares, were lower. 1 i will touch upon risks brought by this unevenness later. looking at the euro area's growth rate for 2020, the estimated rate in the autumn forecast was revised upward to minus 7. 8 percent on a year - on - year basis from minus 8. 7 percent in the summer forecast. on the other hand, spain's growth rate for 2020 was revised downward to minus 12. 4 percent on a year - on - year basis from the estimated minus 10. 9 percent. b. japan's economy 1. current situation the bank assesses that japan's economy has picked up with economic activity resuming, although it remains in a severe situation due to the impact of covid - 19 at home and abroad. in the april - june quarter, real gdp recorded a growth rate of minus 8. 2 percent on a quarteron - quarter basis ( minus 28. 8 percent on an annualized basis ), reflecting sharp declines, mainly in exports ( including inbound tourism consumption, which is classified as

- provisioning to support strengthening the foundations for economic growth the “ comprehensive easing ” i have described can be considered as a policy, when a decline in future demand is worried but is expected to pick up after some time, to support such return of the demand or to underpin the demand by powerful monetary easing. the challenges japan ’ s economy is faced with are not only the temporary decline in demand. it faces the medium - to long - term challenge of overcoming the trend decline in the growth rate that would still remain even after the temporary decline in demand is resolved. in other words, elevating the economy in a sustainable manner is considered to be an important challenge. taking the developments after the lehman shock as an example, demand declined rapidly and temporarily due partly to inventory adjustments, but picked up as time passed. on the other hand, global demand for, for example, automobiles, which had been at a high level amid the “ credit bubble ” in the united states prior to the lehman shock, will not pick up so easily. in the world following the burst of the credit bubble, to return to the previous high level and to further grow, there is no choice but to increase the strength for growth through the efforts such as further innovation in product development and sales network formulation. on the basis of such recognition, the bank introduced the “ fundprovisioning measure to support strengthening the foundations for economic growth. ” in what follows, i will explain my views about the background against which the bank introduced the measure. let me first overview the changes in the environment surrounding japan ’ s economy. japan has been faced with the low birth rate and the aging population for a long period. meanwhile, emerging economies, especially in asia, have been growing rapidly. therefore, the main demand has shifted from the youth and middle - aged to the aged people, and from advanced to emerging economies, and it has been required to establish a supply system of products and services that could meet such new demand. looking at the history of hit products as an example of such changes in demand, the main purchasers of the so - called 3cs – color television sets, air conditioners, and cars – were young couples and were a relatively homogeneous group. by contrast, recently, demand for low calorie foods preferred by elders and services that deliver purchased products to elders with weak mobility have been growing, and the purchasers have become heterogeneous. the development of information technology has also brought a significant environmental change.