This book, 「The World Economic Outlook to the    year 2000」, collects papers presented and discussions at the KERI/WEFA World Economic Outlook Conference, which is the annual conference since 1990 cosponsored by KERI and the WEFA Group, held on November 5th 1996 at the Businessmen's Club in Seoul, Korea along with the special interview with Dr. Lawrence R. Klein and Dr. Byung-Doo Sohn. Three papers presented at the conference were covering issues 1) Medium-term trend in the world economy by Dr. Lawrence R. Klein, Novel laureate, currently professor, University of Pennsylvania, 2) Assessing long-term market opportunities in developing Asia by Dr. Richard J. Buczynski, executive vice president of the WEFA Group, 3) Present state of the Japanese economy and the lognrun prospect of Yen value by Dr. Chikashi Moriguchi, professor and director of the Institute for Social and Economic Research, Osaka University respectively.

In the presentation, Dr. Klein made the point that the fact some many diverse parts of the world economy are in different cyclical phases, enhances the possibility of stretching out the total period of expansion and no worldwide recession is projected to the end of the decade. And the expansion is now being kept alive by increased trade ; by development of vast new markets in such populous areas as China, India and the transition countries ; and by investment both in known types of activity and in the new technologies. Dr. Buczynski highlighted Asian in the longrun prospect by showing various key factors of market assessment by country of the WEFA Group's own. Dr. Moriguchi pointed out that the era of violent fluctuation of yen/dollar rate is over and changed market structure of Japan will show an import market that is reponsive to the changes in exchange rate. He also showed by application of an econometric estimation that PPP will keep coming closer to the market rate in the future, probably 120 yen/dollar range.

Many comments with deep insights,  those are of much implication to the Korean economy, were also made in the discussion among the speakers and discussants at the conference and the special interview arranged by Daily Hankook Ilbo.