Research and Analytics
Research and Analytics
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has already prompted an unprecedented fiscal policy response of close to $11 trillion worldwide. But with confirmed cases and fatalities still rising fast, policymakers will have to keep the public health response their No. 1 priority while retaining supportive and flexible fiscal policies and preparing for transformational economic change.
Craft beer sales are surging at stores, but craft breweries are still struggling. Cheap beer is surging, but it’s still losing market share. That’s because the economics of the beer business are complicated. (And that’s before you start drinking). But the beer business can tell us a lot about the last two recessions.
The COVID-19 pandemic could be a game changer for digital financial services. Low income households and small firms can benefit greatly from advances in mobile money, fintech services and online banking. Financial inclusion as a result of digital financial services can also boost economic growth. While the pandemic is set to increase use of these services, it has also posed challenges for the growth of the industry’s smaller players and highlighted unequal access to digital infrastructure. Several actions will need to be taken to ensure maximum inclusion going forward.
This article provides key insights of a blockbuster study that was dropped late last week by a gang of economists led by Harvard’s Raj Chetty.
The Great Lockdown is expected to play out in three phases, first as countries enter the lockdown, then as they exit, and finally as they escape the lockdown when there is a medical solution to the pandemic. Many countries are now in the second phase, as they reopen, with early signs of recovery, but risks of second waves of infections and re-imposition of lockdowns. Surveying the economic landscape, the sheer scale and severity of the Global Lockdown are striking.
