Sierra Leone 2021 Economic Update : Welfare and Poverty Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic
The global economy is projected to grow 6 percent in 2021, stronger than had previously been expected, reflecting fiscal support in advanced economies, especially the US, and faster rollout of vaccines than anticipated. However, amid COVID-related...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
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World Bank, Washington, DC
2021
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/977131623908125668/Sierra-Leone-2021-Economic-Update-Welfare-and-Poverty-Effects-of-the-COVID-19-Pandemic http://hdl.handle.net/10986/35784 |
| Summary: | The global economy is projected to grow
6 percent in 2021, stronger than had previously been
expected, reflecting fiscal support in advanced economies,
especially the US, and faster rollout of vaccines than
anticipated. However, amid COVID-related uncertainty,
recoveries are varying within as well as between countries.
Growth is projected to vary substantially depending on the
policy space available, and how much a country relies on
tourism and commodity exports. While advanced economies as a
group are now projected to grow by 5.1 percent in 2021,
growth in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) will rebound by only 3.4
percent. The immediate and medium-term policy priorities
should focus on strengthening the response to the COVID-19
pandemic by rolling out a strong vaccination program and
implementing broad-based macroeconomic reforms to support a
quick economic recovery. First, to prevent a severe second
wave from disruption economic recovery over the medium-term,
the authorities should develop and implement a robust
vaccination program that targets inoculation of population
‘at risk’ (health workers, persons aged 70 years and those
with comorbidities) and all adults. Sierra Leone’s access to
vaccines could depend on its strategic relationship with key
development partners and vaccine-producing nations. The
country should strengthen alliances with development
partners and support multilateral-led approaches by the
African Union to increase its access to vaccines. Second,
addressing existing macroeconomic weaknesses and
implementing reforms to mitigate the existing risks to
medium-term recovery will be critical for a sustained
inclusive economic recovery that supports poverty reduction.
Fiscal Policy can also be useful in ensuring that the
economic recovery is pro-poor and inclusive. For the
recovery to be pro-poor and pro-welfare, fiscal policy
should balance the risks from growing debt with those from
premature consolidation. Given the limited fiscal space,
policy support should focus on expenditure reprioritization
toward social sectors to ensure wider access to basic public
services, especially vaccinations. This reprioritization
effort should be grounded on credible medium-term fiscal
frameworks. Both pre-distributive (policies that affect the
distribution of market income) and redistributive
(after-market) are needed to tackle poverty and inequality
over the recovery period. Predistributive policies include
measures to enhance access to basic services. Redistributive
policies include tax and transfer policies designed to
reallocate income from the top to the bottom of the income scale. |
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