CLAIRE BISSEKER: Global recovery will bypass SA if reforms are not expedited
The country needs private sector involvement to achieve a green, digital future
Two big themes emerged from the IMF spring meetings in Washington last week. First, countries’ economic fortunes are diverging as the developed world recovers faster from the pandemic and pulls further ahead. This is fuelling the second theme: the risk of an emerging markets debt crisis as global inflation and interest rates rise in response to the growth rebound, drawing capital away from vulnerable countries.
So, the good news is that the global economy is recovering faster than expected; the bad news (for SA) is that the developed world is pulling ahead on faster vaccine readiness and bigger stimulus programmes. These divergent recovery paths are widening the gaps in living standards between countries. According to the IMF, the average annual loss in per capita GDP over the 2020-2024 period is projected to be 2.3% in advanced economies but double that (4.7%) in emerging markets...
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