More than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic, the developing economies of East Asia and the Pacific (EAP) are facing a markedly uneven recovery, according to the World Bank’s latest economic update for East Asia and the Pacific region, released on March 25, 2021. Only China and Vietnam are experiencing a V-shaped rebound where output has already surpassed pre-pandemic levels. In the other major economies, output remained on average around 5 percent below pre-pandemic levels. Hardest hit of all have been the Pacific Island countries. Economic performance has depended on the effectiveness of virus containment, the ability to take advantage of the revival of international trade, and the capacity of governments to provide fiscal and monetary support. In 2020, poverty in the region stopped declining for the first time in decades. An estimated 32 million people in the region failed to escape poverty (at a poverty line of $5.50/ day) due to the pandemic.
At this seminar, Ergys Islamaj, Senior Economist in the Office of Chief Economist for East Asia and Pacific Region, presented the main points of the report.
Date/Time:
8am-9am, Friday, April 2, 2021 (Japan Standard Time)
Speaker:
Senior Economist, Office of Chief Economist for East Asia and Pacific, World Bank
Ergys Islamaj is a senior economist at the East Asia and Pacific Chief Economist Office where he leads the biannual East Asia and Pacific Economic Update. Recent analytical works includes studies on productivity spillovers, propagation of shocks through the input-output matrix, sudden stops in financial and debt flows, and the ability of remittances to smooth consumption.
He holds a PhD from Georgetown University. Prior to joining the World Bank, Ergys was an Assistant professor at Vassar College. He has published on behavior of consumption and investment growth in emerging markets and developing economies, risk sharing, remittances, and. growth spillovers His broader research agenda on exchange rate pass-through and its implications for monetary and fiscal policy, effects of financial crises on sectoral output and employment and the link between hedge fund behavior and return (in the US and emerging markets).
Presentation material: EAP Economic Update, April 2021 Uneven Recovery (PDF)
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