West German advisers rap new economic plan

October 13, 1982

A panel of economic advisers forecast a slight recovery for the West German economy in 1983 but criticized key points in the new center-right government's economic program.

The university professors said the economy should grow by 1 percent next year after contracting by the same amount in 1982. The report was gloomier than most recent predictions. An Economics Ministry study last month projected 1.5 percent growth for 1983, and former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt's government had assumed 3 percent expansion.