THE OECD's latest Economic Outlook has called for major policies to be put in place to stop the euro area sovereign debt crisis from spreading and to put weakening global activity back on track.

The euro area crisis remains the key risk to the world economy, the Outlook says. Concerns about sovereign debt sustainability are becoming increasingly widespread. If not addressed, recent contagion to countries thought to have relatively solid public finances could massively escalate economic disruption. Pressures on bank funding and balance sheets increase the risk of a credit crunch.

Another serious downside risk is that no action would be agreed to offset the large degree of fiscal tightening implied by current law in the United States. This could tip the economy into a recession that monetary policy could do little to counter.

US GDP is projected to rise by 2.0% in 2012 and by a further 2.5% in 2013, after an expected expansion of 1.7% this year. Euro area growth is forecast to slow down from 1.6% this year to 0.2% next year, before picking up to 1.4% in 2013. In Japan, GDP is expected to expand by 2% in 2012 and 1.6% in 2013, following a contraction of 0.3% in 2011, which reflects the impact of the earthquake and tsunami and subsequent reconstruction activity.

Chinese economic growth is seen easing to 8.5% in 2012, from 9.3% this year, before climbing back to 9.5% in 2013. Weaker activity in China and other emerging-market economies together with modest falls in commodity prices should put inflation in these countries on a downward trend, allowing some easing of monetary policy.