G-20 aims for US$2t GDP hike over 5 years

[SYDNEY] The world's top economies have embraced a goal of generating more than US$2 trillion in additional output over five years while creating tens of millions of new jobs, signalling optimism that the worst of crisis-era austerity was behind them.

The final communique from the two-day meeting of the Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers in Sydney said they would take concrete action to increase investment and employment, among other reforms. The group accounts for around 85 per cent of the global economy.

"We will develop ambitious but realistic policies with the aim to lift our collective GDP by more than 2 per cent above the trajectory implied by current policies over the coming five years," the communique read.