Maurice Obstfeld

In a report Tuesday in advance of the IMF-World Bank annual meetings here this week, the fund says the world economy will grow 3.1 percent this year, down from a July forecast of 3.3 percent and from 3.4 percent growth last year.

"The risks seem more tilted to the downside than they did just a few months ago," IMF chief economist Maurice Obstfeld, told reporters.

Still, Obstfeld downplayed the risk of a global recession.

Obstfeld, who is on leave from the University of California, Berkeley, replaces the retiring Olivier Blanchard.

Obstfeld has written two influential textbooks on international economics, one with Nobel Prize winner and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman.