The EconomistPublished: January 4, 2012Which economies will grow and shrink the fastest in 2012?LIBYAS economy will grow faster than any other in 2012, according to the Economist Intelligence Units forecasts, boosted by reconstruction following the fall of Muammar Qaddafis regime. The surge is a bounce-back from an even more precipitous slump while war raged. In Iraq, post-conflict chaos has delayed recovery but performance in 2012 may mark the start of something new. Mongolia is enjoying a mining boom and will benefit from investment in that sector; Angola and Niger will gain from relatively high commodity prices. China will continue to experience robust growth; this is fortunate since demand generated by the worlds second-largest economy will counteract some of the drag from the rich world. As for the fastest shrinkers, Europes economies feature prominently, as they remain embroiled in the Euro crisis. But Sudan will suffer the heaviest economic contraction, having lost three quarters of its oil reserves to South Sudan when that country seceded in July. Wharton School - University of PennsylvaniaPublished: January 03, 2012Brazil is booming. In contrast to the economies of the U.S. and the Eurozone -- where a mix of debt woes, dysfunctional politics and consumer weakness has conspired to dampen economic growth -- Brazil is on track for yet another year of above-average GDP performance. Driven by a number of factors -- including Chinese demand for raw materials, a fast-growing and highly acquisitive middle class, large inflows of foreign investment and the ongoing development of its vast pre-salt oil deposits -- the country is experiencing a multiyear growth spurt unlike any in its recent past.However, while outsized economic growth brings the promise of greater national prosperity, it also poses a host of new challenges, some of which the country may not be fully prepared to address. "One of Brazil's biggest problems," says Masao Ukon, a partner in the Sao Paulo office of the Boston Consulting Group, "is a shortage of qualified labor." Indeed, as one of the key inputs to Brazil's burgeoning economy, qualified labor is a precious resource whose inadequate supply could pose significant risks to the country's growth trajectory.Demand Outstrips SupplyAt its most basic level, Brazil's shortage of qualified labor is little more than a supply-demand imbalance. With the Brazilian economy firing on all cylinders -- and in the context of a legacy of dramatic government underinvestment in education -- firms operating across a number of industries and sectors are demanding more skilled workers than the labor market currently offers, leading to unmet hiring quotas, increased pressure on existing employees and slower firm growth. The shortage is especially pronounced for firms in need of technicians and engineers. Given their demand for large numbers of these specialist employees, the oil and gas, real estate and aerospace industries have been hit particularly hard by the shortfall.In particular, while many developing countries are suffering from a similar phenomenon, the labor problem is especially severe in Brazil, which recently placed third in a global ranking of countries coping with labor shortages. Indeed, according to the study, in which human resources