by Federico J. Díez, Romain Duval, Chiara Maggi and Nicola Pierri The pandemic has hit small and medium enterprises particularly hard, partly because they are predominant in some contact-intensive sectors like hotels, restaurants, and entertainment. As a result, many advanced economies risk experiencing a wave of liquidations that could destroy millions of jobs, damage the […]
Tag: pandemic
Slow-Healing Scars: The Pandemic’s Legacy
By Sonali Das and Philippe Wingender Recessions wreak havoc and the damage is often long-lived. Businesses shut down, investment spending is cut, and people out of work can lose skills and motivation as the months stretch on. But the recession brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic is no ordinary recession. Compared to previous global crises, […]
Working Out the Differences: Labor Policies for a Fairer Recovery
By John Bluedorn The COVID-19 pandemic’s destruction of jobs was sure and swift. The lasting effects of the crisis on workers could be just as painful and unequal. Youth and lower-skilled workers took some of the hardest hits on average. Women, especially in emerging market and developing economies, also suffered. Many of these workers face […]
How European Banks Can Support the Recovery
By Mai Chi Dao, Andreas Jobst, Aiko Mineshima, and Srobona Mitra A robust post-COVID-19 recovery will depend on banks having sufficient capital to provide credit. While m ost European banks entered the pandemic with strong capital levels, they are highly exposed to economic sectors hit hard by the pandemic. A new IMF study assesses the […]
The Future of Asia: What a Difference a Year Can Make
By Chang Yong Rhee and Katsiaryna Svirydzenka The Sydney Opera resumed live performances and the city of Melbourne recently hosted the Australian Open tennis tournament with fans (mostly) in attendance. Japan is back to planning the delayed 2020 Summer Olympics, while China focuses on the Beijing 2022 Winter Games. Having been hit by COVID-19 first, […]
Rising Market Power—A Threat to the Recovery?
By Kristalina Georgieva, Federico J. Díez, Romain Duval, and Daniel Schwarz The crisis has hit small and medium enterprises especially hard, causing massive job losses and other economic scars. Among these—less noticeable, but also serious—is rising market power among dominant firms as they emerge even stronger while smaller rivals fall away. We know from experience […]
Engendering the Recovery: Budgeting with Women in Mind
By Antoinette Sayeh, Jiro Honda, Carolina Renteria, Vincent Tang International Women’s Day, March 8, marks a year from the start of widespread lockdowns in response to COVID-19. As an IMF blog warned back in July, women have borne the economic and social brunt of the pandemic. With many governments preparing budgets for the next fiscal […]
The Evidence Is in on Negative Interest Rate Policies
By Luis Brandao-Marques and Gaston Gelos عربي, 中文, Français, 日本語, Русский Interest rates are low, and “lower for longer” has become something of a mantra among policy makers, regulators, and other market watchers. But negative interest rates raise an entirely new set of questions. After eight years of experience with negative interest rate policies, the initial skepticism (paying interest […]
Staying Afloat: New Measures to Support European Businesses
By Alfred Kammer and Laura Papi Français Much of Europe rang in the start of 2021 with new lockdowns and weak economic activity. This same period saw the roll out of effective vaccines. While the end of the pandemic will remain a race between the virus and vaccines, there is now light at the end […]
The Haves and Have-nots Of the Digital Age
By Gita Bhatt Accelerated by the pandemic, the digital future is coming at us faster than ever before, and maybe faster than we can imagine. In this issue, we explore the possible consequences—the good, the bad, and the gray. For millions, technology has been a lifeline, changing the way we work, learn, shop, and entertain […]
