Investments in quality education and health will be especially important for the post-pandemic recovery in the growing economies of Europe and Central Asia, the World Bank pointed out.
Those countries, according to the World Bank, will experience a drop in activity of 4.4 percent this year, which is the worst recession since the global financial crisis in 2008.
“The recovery of economic activity is expected in 2021, ranging from 1.1 percent to 3.3 percent. This forecast is still very uncertain, with the risk of a worse outcome,” the updated edition of the World Bank’s Economic Report for the region states.
It was pointed out that the coronavirus pandemic and accompanying measures to suppress its effects have a strong impact on the Serbian economy, which is expected to fall into recession with the projected drop in gross domestic product (GDP) of three percent in 2020.
“Recovery, at a slow pace, will begin in 2021. Serbia needs to continue working to remove obstacles to private sector growth resulting from weak governance and bureaucracy,” the report said.
It was pointed out that the pace of recovery in the growing economies of Europe and Central Asia will depend on the duration of the coronavirus pandemic, the availability and distribution of vaccines, as well as the extent of the improvement in global trade and investment.
The World Bank has warned that growth in the region may be weaker than expected in the event of a worsening pandemic.
“In such challenging times, the countries of Europe and Central Asia must prepare for the period after the current crises and for a strong post-pandemic recovery,” said World Bank Vice President for Europe and Central Asia Ana Bjerde.
This means, as she explained, that it is necessary to strengthen administrations, improve the investment climate, encourage innovation and digital development, as well as that significant and continuous investments in quality education and health are necessary.
According to the World Bank forecast, the pandemic-induced decline in economic activity in 2020 will increase poverty in all countries in the region.
“With a poverty line of 3.2 dollars a day, an additional 2.2 million people could fall into poverty. With a poverty line of 5.5 dollars a day, which is usually used as a definition for countries that typically belong to higher middle-income groups, as many as six million people could become poor,” the report said.
It is added that quality higher education is extremely important for people to remain competitive in fast-changing labor markets, Danas reports.
