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LONDON, March 13 (Reuters) - Countries' stimulus packages to boost their economies will not be enough on their own to fix the world's economy, World Bank President Robert Zoellick said on Friday.
Governments must also work hard to fix the banking system and there is a danger of "doing too little, too late", he said.
"Stimulus packages alone are not enough," he told reporters at a news conference in London. "The IMF research of some 122 financial and economic crises shows that turnaround can't happen unless you clean up the bad assets and recapitalise the banks.
"If you don't take on the banking issue, the stimulus is just like a sugar high. It pushes some energy into the system but then you get the letdown unless you reopen the credit markets."
Japan on Friday joined the U.S. push for more government spending to fight the economic crisis ahead of a meeting of G20 financial leaders marked by a rift between Washington and Europe on the priorities in the battle with the global crisis.
Countries should be prepared to continue their stimulus plans into 2010, within the boundaries of fiscal responsibility, Zoellick added.
"2009 is shaping up to be a very dangerous year," he added. "The danger now is doing too little, too late. Incrementalism will prolong and increase risks. So far the stimulus packages are short of the IMF target of 2 percent of GDP.
Finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 club of developed and emerging nations are meeting in southern England on Friday to prepare the ground for a leaders' summit in London next month to try to fix the world economy.