World economy bound to suffer ‘severe recession’

According to IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva the world economy, already “sluggish” before the coronavirus outbreak, is now bound to suffer a “severe recession” in 2020. The current crisis posed “daunting challenges” for policymakers in many emerging markets and developing economies.

Daily Current Affairs Quiz 2020

Key-Points

The coronavirus pandemic hit the world economy when it was already in a fragile state as it was weighed down by trade disputes, policy uncertainty, and geopolitical tensions.

The global coronavirus outbreak is a crisis that is like no other and poses daunting challenges for policymakers in many emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), especially where the pandemic encounters weak public health systems, capacity constraints.

Countries that were affected early-such as China, South Korea, and Italy-have suffered massive contractions in manufacturing activity and services, exceeding the losses recorded at the onset of the global financial crisis.

The idea of a trade-off between saving lives and saving livelihoods is a false dilemma.