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.
So far in 2020, the industrial giant of EU zone has been badly hit as a result of several factors in the global space, causing further pain for the economy. In January 2020, production activities nosedived, recording a huge decline of about 2.7% year-on-year, blame the total economic lockdown measure against the global pandemic.
The COVID-19 pandemic is devastating labor markets across the world. Tens of millions of workers lost their jobs, millions more out of the labor force altogether, and many occupations face an uncertain future. Social distancing measures threaten jobs requiring physical presence at the workplace or face-to-face interactions. Those unable to work remotely, unless deemed essential, face a significantly higher risk of reductions in hours or pay, temporary furloughs, or permanent layoffs. What types of jobs and workers are most at risk? Not surprisingly, the costs have fallen most heavily on those who are least able to bear them: the poor and the young in the lowest-paid jobs.
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.
Inflation rate in Venezuela has skyrocketed, moving an average figure of 21.07% in 2012 to as high as 65,374.08% in 2018 before moderating to c.15,000% in 2020. Hence, the venezuelan Bolivar has lost its value, causing more money to chase fewer goods – imagining buying a roll of toilet paper with 2.6 million Venezuelan Bolivars in 2018.
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.
Compared to the April World Economic Outlook forecast, the IMF now projects a deeper recession in 2020 and a slower recovery in 2021. Global output is projected to decline by -4.9 percent in 2020, 1.9 percentage points below our April forecast, followed by a partial recovery, with growth at 5.4 percent in 2021.
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.
Nigeria’s Headline inflation increased by 12.4% (year-on-year) in May 2020, 6bps (0.06%) higher than the rate recorded in the previous month (12.34%), marking a ninth consecutive month of increase in inflation since August 2019 (11.02%) and a 25-month high of April 2018 (12.48%). The 12.4% inflation rate means that on the average, if a goods cost NGN100 in May 2019, 12 months ago, the consumer will actually pay NGN112.4 for the same commodity in May 2020.
