Uneven recovery

Covid-19 has been an unprecedented shock to almost all walks of life in the modern world. Apart from the threat to human health, the persistent outbreak has devastated the global economy, state budgets and corporate balance sheets, prompting policymakers to move swiftly to limit the harm to their economies.

As the pandemic lingers, the economic damages will last for years, limiting the growth potential of countries in East Asia and the Pacific (EAP). Containment measures and lockdowns persist as outbreaks continue in some economies and reemerge in others.

“The near-term outlook remains highly uncertain. The recovery is expected to be uneven and fragile, and the materialisation of a number of downside risks could derail the projected regional economic recovery,” the World Bank said in a report issued earlier this month.

“The…