"Output in the EBRD regions contracted by 8.2 per cent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2020 as social distancing measures aimed at containing the spread of Covid-19 weighed on domestic demand and supply. Their effects were compounded by weaker demand for exports, a collapse in tourism, a drop in remittances and low commodity prices. This contraction was steeper than anticipated in May although less deep than in advanced economies where lockdowns tended to be longer. The averages mask significant variation in economic outcomes across the EBRD regions, with tourism-dependent Croatia, Greece and Tunisia recording contractions in excess of 15 per cent year-on-year.

"Central Asia’s long-term economic vitality will depend on the ability of the region’s economies to participate in global value chains and possibly upgrade to higher value-added activities. Value chains have transformed global trade and production by enabling the stages of a product to be dispersed across countries. This is particularly true where the right skills and input requirements are available at competitive cost and quality.

A new article in IMF's Finance&Development magazine looks into impacts of the pandemic on the tourism sector.

"Before COVID-19, travel and tourism had become one of the most important sectors in the world economy, accounting for 10 percent of global GDP and more than 320 million jobs worldwide.

In 1950, at the dawn of the jet age, just 25 million people took foreign trips. By 2019, that number had reached 1.5 billion, and the travel and tourism sector had grown to almost too-big-to-fail proportions for many economies.

The Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities issued the second volume of the publication on how COVID-19 pandemic has affected the economies around the world. The primary focus of this publication is economies heavily dependant on remittances.

EBRD has published one of its flagship reports - Transition Report. This year's report "focuses on the role of the state, looking at the size of the state across various economies, the role of state-owned enterprises and state banks in the modern economy, and the role that the state plays in supporting the transition to a green economy."

EBRD has published a new document, which gives insights on credit guarantee schemes as a measure to support SMEs access to finance in times of Covid-19.

The full document can be accessed via the link.

Source: EBRD

"The COVID-19 pandemic is crippling the economies of rich and poor countries alike. Yet for many low-income and fragile states, the economic shock will be magnified by the loss of remittances—money sent home by migrant and guest workers employed in foreign countries.

"Once COVID-19 abates, we will be reminded of how everything changed, of the world that was. But the unfolding crisis contains profound lessons for the future. When international delegates met at Bretton Woods in July 1944 to devise a postwar world, the war was still far from over. Yet, recalling the missed opportunities that had followed the previous world war, they understood that the focus had to shift from ending the war to establishing new foundations.

"ADB has published a new article The global economy is on the brink of a recession as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has severely impacted businesses, jobs, and incomes. The pandemic-induced economic slowdown is driven by both the supply and demand sides of the economy. As many economies have imposed lockdown measures, factories have been closed, supply chains disrupted, and productivity has fallen, with mounting economic losses.

EBRD has published a new working paper on COVID-related impact.

"What will be political legacy of the Coronavirus pandemic? We find that epidemic exposure in what psychologists refer to as an individual’s “impressionable years” (ages 18 to 25) has a persistent negative effect on confidence in political institutions and leaders.

New IMF publication brings together six prominent thinkers to reflect on how the pandemic has changed the world.

Click here to read the publication.

Source: IMF

New ADB blog has been recently published on Fintech.

"Fintech – the fusion of finance and technology – could be a game-changer for inclusive economic growth amidst the pandemic.