Jordan Economic Monitor, June 2020 : Weathering the Storm
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a severe global recession. The global economy, after showing a moderate recovery in 2019, is currently reeling from the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which, besides taking a toll on human life, has pushed the glo...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2020
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/895901594653936142/Jordan-Economic-Monitor-Spring-2020-Weathering-the-Storm http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34114 |
| Summary: | The COVID-19 pandemic has created a
severe global recession. The global economy, after showing a
moderate recovery in 2019, is currently reeling from the
Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which, besides taking a toll
on human life, has pushed the global economy into the worst
recession since the Great Depression due to the lockdowns
aimed at controlling the spread of the virus. Starting as a
supply shock, the pandemic has triggered an unprecedented
demand shock that led to significant decline in global
commodity prices, especially oil prices. The lockdowns have
also amplified pre-existing vulnerabilities such as weak
governance, large labor market informality, and limited
fiscal space. This constrained fiscal space, for example,
limits countries'room to maneuver with already high
levels of debt and tightening external financing conditions.
The recent global developments along with domestic
disruptions due to pandemic measures are severely impacting
the already struggling Jordanian economy and its prospects.
For the fourth year in a row, in 2019 Jordan's economy
continued to drift around a tepid 2.0 percent growth rate.
Such a growth rate is not sufficient to tackle some pressing
socio-economic issues, such as a low labor force
participation and high unemployment, particularly among
women and youth. On the macro front, while there was
significant reduction recorded in external imbalances during
2019, supported by healthy growth in exports and travel
receipts, fiscal policy remained expansionary and pushed the
debt-to-GDP ratio to almost 100 percent. Within this
context, the country is facing significant economic
challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic through both
external and domestic channels. These challenges are
amplified because Jordan has large linkages to the external world. |
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