Australia's treasurer has called on world leaders to work in tandem to tackle stubbornly high inflation.
Speaking at a meeting of G20 economic ministers and central bank governors in Washington, Jim Chalmers urged world leaders to approach the prospect of another global downturn differently from the global financial crisis and the pandemic.
"These forums allow us to consider how our policy responses are not just synchronised but coordinated as well," he told counterparts from around the world on Thursday (Australian time).
"We need to recognise that this global downturn, if or when it happens, will be the third in a decade and a half, but it warrants a different response to the other two."
He said responsible budgets were the best buffer against economic uncertainty.
"We need to strike the right balance between providing targeted support to those most impacted by high energy and food prices, but we need to ensure that our fiscal policies don't exacerbate inflationary pressures."
Dr Chalmers will hand down his first budget on October 25.
Earlier this week, the International Monetary Fund released its outlook for global growth and is predicting a recession in more than one-third of the global economy.
The IMF expects Australia's GDP to grow by 3.8 per cent in 2022 and 1.9 per cent in the following year.
US President Joe Biden says a recession is unlikely for the biggest global economy but Dr Chalmers is not so convinced.
Political scientist Charles Miller said the fate of the global economy was on a knife's edge and he was not surprised world leaders were coming to different conclusions.
"On the one hand, there is a continuing problem with inflation across the developed world, and the standard response to that is to hit the brakes and to increase interest rates, cut budget deficits and so on in order to try and bring it under control," he told Sky News.
"The more you do that, the more the danger that you incur of having a recession," he said.
Shadow treasurer Angus Taylor said Labor was spreading doom and gloom but had no plan to deal with the economic challenges.
"The treasurer needs to explain how his visit to the US is going to help Australians living in the 'burbs and the bush with the very real and painful cost of living pressures they're facing," he said.
