Covid-19 has triggered the deepest global recession in decades. While the ultimate outcome is still uncertain, the pandemic will result in contractions across the vast majority of emerging market and developing economies, says the World Bank in a recent report, Global Economic Prospects. The report forecasts the pandemic is causing lasting damage to labor productivity and potential output. The immediate policy priorities are to alleviate the human costs and attenuate the near-term economic losses. Once the crisis abates, it will be necessary to reaffirm credible commitment to sustainable policies and undertake the necessary reforms to buttress long-term prospects. Global coordination and cooperation will be critical.
The World Bank forecasts that the shocks stemming from the pandemic will cause Dominican economic activity to plunge by 0.8% in 2020. This is a shallower drop than other countries in the region. Overall, Central America’s economy is projected to shrink by a larger 3.6% and Caribbean countries are anticipated to contract by 1.8%, excluding Guyana, where the offshore oil industry is developing rapidly.
The DR is suffering the effects of the pandemic on tourism, manufacturing, remittances and direct foreign investment. A decline of 0.8% is forecast for 2020. Nevertheless, economic activity in the Dominican Republic is forecast to rebound to 2.5% in 2021 as the country meets the challenges. This growth, nevertheless, according to the World Bank, will be the lowest in the Caribbean island countries, with the exception of Haiti.
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World Bank
World Bank
9 June 2020