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MGI's independent investigations combine McKinsey's microeconomic understanding of companies and industries with the rigor of leading macroeconomic thinking to derive perspectives on the global forces shaping business, government, and society.

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Lions on the move: The progress and potential of African economies Africa's economic growth is creating substantial new business opportunities that are often overlooked by global companies. Consumer-facing industries, resources, agriculture, and infrastructure, together could generate as much as $2.6 trillion in revenue annually by 2020, or $1 trillion more than today. Read more Listen to the podcast

Growth and competitiveness in the United States: The role of its multinational companies U.S. multinationals represent less than 1 percent of all U.S. companies, yet they contribute disproportionately to the U.S. economy's growth and health in many ways. U.S. MNCs contributed 31 percent of the growth in real GDP and 41 percent of U.S. gains in labor productivity since 1990. Their outsized contributions to productivity growth matter greatly because productivity increases have delivered nearly three-quarters of U.S. real GDP growth since 2000. Read the full report Listen to the podcast

What's driving Africa's growth The rate of return on foreign investment is higher in Africa than in any other developing region. Global executives and investors must pay heed. Read more on the McKinsey Quarterly site

India's urban awakening: Building inclusive cities, sustaining economic growth India's lack of effective policies to manage its rapid and large-scale urbanization could jeopardize the nation's growth trajectory. But if India pursues a new operating model for its cities, it could add as much as 1 to 1.5 percent to annual GDP growth, bringing the economy near to the double-digit growth to which the government aspires. Read the full report

Five myths about how to create jobs With the unemployment rate in the United States lingering just below 10 percent job creation has become the top priority in Washington. As Americans consider various approaches to help boost employment, we must have realistic expectations. Read more on the McKinsey Quarterly site

How to compete and grow: A sector guide to policy Drawing on industry case studies from around the world, MGI analyzes policies and regulations that have succeeded and those that have failed in fostering economic growth and competitiveness at the sector level. What emerges are some surprising findings that run counter to the way many policy makers are thinking about the task at hand. Read the full report

The Internet of Things More objects are becoming embedded with sensors and gaining the ability to communicate. The resulting new information networks promise to create new business models, improve business processes, and reduce costs and risks. Read article and listen to the podcast on the McKinsey Quarterly site

Debt and deleveraging: The global credit bubble and its economic consequences The recent bursting of the great global credit bubble has left a large burden of debt weighing on many households, businesses, and governments, as well as on the broader prospects for economic recovery in countries around the world. Leverage levels are still very high in ten sectors of five major economies. If history is a guide, one would expect many years of debt reduction in these sectors, which would exert a significant drag on GDP growth. Read more Listen to the podcast

An exorbitant privilege? Implications of reserve currencies for competitiveness Observers assume that the United States enjoys an "exorbitant privilege" because the dollar is the global reserve currency. But MGI finds that in 2007/8, the United States gained a net benefit of just $40 billion to $70 billion—0.3 to 0.5 percent of US GDP. In the "crisis year" to June 2009, the benefit fell to between -$5 billion and $25 billion. Given this, could the United States prioritize domestic growth and jobs over its global responsibilities, sparking greater currency volatility that threatens competitiveness? Read the discussion paper Read a series of essays and join the debate on the future of the dollar on What Matters

Global capital markets: Entering a new era World financial assets fell by $16 trillion to $178 trillion in 2008, marking the largest setback on record and a break in the three-decade-long expansion of global capital markets. Looking ahead, mature financial markets may be headed for slower growth, while emerging markets will likely account for an increasing share of global asset growth. Read more Launch this report (PDF - 3.2 MB) View slideshow