Foreign
Pandemic lockdowns leave $ 10 billion hole in global economy
A strong rebound this year would still leave the world on the ground with around $ 10 trillion due to the coronavirus pandemic and lockdowns, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Although the world economy could grow by 4.7% in 2021, it would still find itself “short of $ 10 trillion”, or about double the gross domestic product (GDP) of Japan, compared to if the pandemic had never happened.
“Last year, the world economy recorded its largest annual decline in output since the introduction of statistics on aggregate economic activity in the early 1940s,” UNCTAD said Thursday.
As rich economies have proposed huge fiscal spending to contain the damage, such as the US $ 1.9 trillion “stimulus package,” and as China resumed growth at the end of 2020, people in smaller and poorer countries are struggling, warned UNCTAD.
Developing countries bear the brunt of the recession due to “limited fiscal space, tighter balance-of-payments constraints and insufficient international support,” resulting in some of the largest declines in personal income compared. to GDP.
“Even a slight slowdown in economic activity can be devastating,” said UNCTAD, describing the fallout from the pandemic restrictions as predictable severe in developing economies like the Philippines and Malaysia.
On Thursday, UNCTAD also raised its earlier forecast of 4.3 percent global growth in 2021, citing a possible “stronger recovery in the United States.”
In January, the World Bank said the global economy could grow 4% in 2021, while the International Monetary Fund opted for a rosier rate of 5.5%. (dpa / NAN)
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