G7 performance on macroeconomic policy
Despite consistently high compliance, macroeconomic policy has drifted from the core of G7 deliberations, limiting its impact on global economic stability. With renewed attention on imbalances, leaders now face a test of whether coordination can once again deliver meaningful outcomes
Alisha Aslam, researcher, G7 Research Group
A s the 2026 French presidency seeks to G7 leaders have an opportunity to do more here than they have in the recent past. History shows they did more before, suggesting that they can do it again this year. DELIBERATION G7 summits have emphasised macroeconomic policy periodically since their start in 1975, but little since the early 2000s. In 1975, macroeco- nomic policy peaked at 52% of the communiqué. From 2002 to 2008, it stayed below 3%. The small- est share came at the G8 summit (with Russia) at St Petersburg in 2006, at just 0.2%. It rose to 9% in 2009, due to the 2008 global financial crisis, but then declined. It jumped to 30% in 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic, but dipped to 6% from 2021 to 2023. In 2024, it dropped to 4%, but rebounded to 19% in 2025. revive the G7's raison-d’être – which it sees as macroeconomic policy coordination – COMMITMENTS From 1975 to 2025, G7 leaders made 339 com- mitments on macroeconomic policy, for 4% of the 7,843 commitments they made overall. But there were none among the 150 they made in 2025. They also made none in 2019 and 2010. From 2014 to 2024, less than 6% of their commitments addressed macroeconomic policy, except in 2020 with 32% – from eight of the 25 commitments made then and a level not seen since 1987. The most commitments on macroeconomic policy were made in 2022, but these 19 commitments
accounted for only 3% of the total. Commitments on macroeconomic policy in both 2023 and 2024 accounted for 2%. COMPLIANCE G7 compliance with macroeconomic policy com- mitments averaged a high 85%, based on the 34 assessed by the G7 Research Group. This is well above the G7’s all-subject average of 78%. Compliance on macroeconomic policy started high, averaging 100% for 1996 and again for 1999. Commitments made in 2003 and 2004 averaged 63% and 61% compliance respectively. Compli- ance returned to 100% for 2008, and then remained between 82% and 95% until 2017, except for 2014 when it dipped to 69%. It returned to 100% for 2018. Compliance for 2020 was 75%, and then rose to 91% for 2021, followed by 85% for 2022, 88% for 2023 and 94% for 2024. By member, Canada ranks first with an average of 89% compliance. France, the United States and the European Union come second with 88%. The United Kingdom follows with 86%, then Germany with 83%, Japan with 82% and Italy with 71%. RECOMMENDATIONS Compliance on commitments supporting domestic demand was generally high, reaching 100% in 1999. It was also high on ensuring macroeconomic sta- bility – although the 2022 commitment on financial sector stability had only 57% compliance. When the G7 redirected its desire for stability to price levels in 2023, compliance soared to 100%. More gener- ally, commitments on the financial sector had lower
32 // G7 FRANCE: THE ÉVIAN SUMMIT 2026
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