Recovery from the Pandemic Crisis : Balancing Short-Term and Long-Term Concerns

The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic crisis combines the worst characteristics of previous crises. It features a simultaneous supply and demand shock; domestic, regional, and global scope; a projected long duration; and a high degree of uncertainty....

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Main Authors: Loayza, Norman V., Sanghi, Apurva, Shaharuddin, Nurlina, Wuester, Lucie
Format: Working Paper
Language:English
Published: World Bank, Washington, DC 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/461391599582188306/Recovery-from-the-Pandemic-Crisis-Balancing-Short-Term-and-Long-Term-Concerns
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34462
id okr-10986-34462
recordtype oai_dc
spelling okr-10986-344622021-05-25T09:58:24Z Recovery from the Pandemic Crisis : Balancing Short-Term and Long-Term Concerns Loayza, Norman V. Sanghi, Apurva Shaharuddin, Nurlina Wuester, Lucie CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 PANDEMIC RESPONSE ECONOMIC CRISIS GROWTH PROJECTION REBOUND RECOVERY ECONOMIC RECESSION WORLD UNCERTAINTY INDEX PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS LOCKDOWN BANKING CRISIS COMMUNITY MOBILITY The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic crisis combines the worst characteristics of previous crises. It features a simultaneous supply and demand shock; domestic, regional, and global scope; a projected long duration; and a high degree of uncertainty. What can be expected for recovery from the pandemic crisis across the world? This brief first assesses the projections of economic activity in 2020 and 2021 and the domestic and international conditions that will constrain and drive a possible recovery. It then discusses the potential shapes of the recovery (or lack thereof) for specific country conditions. Finally, it explores the need to balance short-term and long-term concerns, arguing in favor of policies that focus on sustained recovery, rather than quick but debt-fueled and short-lived gains. Drawing on the lessons from past crises, the brief concludes that sustained economic recovery is possible only when the underlying causes are addressed and the foundations of growth are protected. For the pandemic crisis, this implies mitigating the spread of the disease to manageable levels while keeping the economy sufficiently active. In the short term, economic policy should focus on preventing further poverty, averting unnecessary business closures, and avoiding lasting damage to human capital and productivity. In the long term, policy reform should address the structural vulnerabilities that the pandemic crisis has exposed. This includes reforms to expand labor and business formalization; to improve the coverage and adequacy of social protection; to extend financial inclusion to elderly, rural, and poor people; to promote digital transformation across society; and, most basically, to improve access to and quality of public health care. 2020-09-16T18:48:22Z 2020-09-16T18:48:22Z 2020-09-07 Working Paper http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/461391599582188306/Recovery-from-the-Pandemic-Crisis-Balancing-Short-Term-and-Long-Term-Concerns http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34462 English Research and Policy Brief; CC BY 3.0 IGO http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo World Bank World Bank, Washington, DC Publications & Research Publications & Research :: Working Paper
repository_type Digital Repository
institution_category Foreign Institution
institution Digital Repositories
building World Bank Open Knowledge Repository
collection World Bank
language English
topic CORONAVIRUS
COVID-19
PANDEMIC RESPONSE
ECONOMIC CRISIS
GROWTH PROJECTION
REBOUND
RECOVERY
ECONOMIC RECESSION
WORLD UNCERTAINTY INDEX
PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS
LOCKDOWN
BANKING CRISIS
COMMUNITY MOBILITY
spellingShingle CORONAVIRUS
COVID-19
PANDEMIC RESPONSE
ECONOMIC CRISIS
GROWTH PROJECTION
REBOUND
RECOVERY
ECONOMIC RECESSION
WORLD UNCERTAINTY INDEX
PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS
LOCKDOWN
BANKING CRISIS
COMMUNITY MOBILITY
Loayza, Norman V.
Sanghi, Apurva
Shaharuddin, Nurlina
Wuester, Lucie
Recovery from the Pandemic Crisis : Balancing Short-Term and Long-Term Concerns
relation Research and Policy Brief;
description The COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic crisis combines the worst characteristics of previous crises. It features a simultaneous supply and demand shock; domestic, regional, and global scope; a projected long duration; and a high degree of uncertainty. What can be expected for recovery from the pandemic crisis across the world? This brief first assesses the projections of economic activity in 2020 and 2021 and the domestic and international conditions that will constrain and drive a possible recovery. It then discusses the potential shapes of the recovery (or lack thereof) for specific country conditions. Finally, it explores the need to balance short-term and long-term concerns, arguing in favor of policies that focus on sustained recovery, rather than quick but debt-fueled and short-lived gains. Drawing on the lessons from past crises, the brief concludes that sustained economic recovery is possible only when the underlying causes are addressed and the foundations of growth are protected. For the pandemic crisis, this implies mitigating the spread of the disease to manageable levels while keeping the economy sufficiently active. In the short term, economic policy should focus on preventing further poverty, averting unnecessary business closures, and avoiding lasting damage to human capital and productivity. In the long term, policy reform should address the structural vulnerabilities that the pandemic crisis has exposed. This includes reforms to expand labor and business formalization; to improve the coverage and adequacy of social protection; to extend financial inclusion to elderly, rural, and poor people; to promote digital transformation across society; and, most basically, to improve access to and quality of public health care.
format Working Paper
author Loayza, Norman V.
Sanghi, Apurva
Shaharuddin, Nurlina
Wuester, Lucie
author_facet Loayza, Norman V.
Sanghi, Apurva
Shaharuddin, Nurlina
Wuester, Lucie
author_sort Loayza, Norman V.
title Recovery from the Pandemic Crisis : Balancing Short-Term and Long-Term Concerns
title_short Recovery from the Pandemic Crisis : Balancing Short-Term and Long-Term Concerns
title_full Recovery from the Pandemic Crisis : Balancing Short-Term and Long-Term Concerns
title_fullStr Recovery from the Pandemic Crisis : Balancing Short-Term and Long-Term Concerns
title_full_unstemmed Recovery from the Pandemic Crisis : Balancing Short-Term and Long-Term Concerns
title_sort recovery from the pandemic crisis : balancing short-term and long-term concerns
publisher World Bank, Washington, DC
publishDate 2020
url http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/461391599582188306/Recovery-from-the-Pandemic-Crisis-Balancing-Short-Term-and-Long-Term-Concerns
http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34462
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