The global economy could suffer between $5.8 trillion and $8.8 trillion in losses — equivalent to 6.4% to 9.7% of global gross domestic product (GDP) — as a result of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, says a new report released by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) last week.
The report, ‘Updated Assessment of the Potential Economic Impact of COVID-19’, finds that economic losses in Asia and the Pacific could range from $1.7 trillion under a short containment scenario of three months to $2.5 trillion under a long containment scenario of six months, with the region accounting for about 30% of the overall decline in global output.
The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could suffer losses between $1.1 trillion and $1.6 trillion. The new analysis updates findings presented in the Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2020 published on 3 April, which estimated COVID-19’s global cost to range from $2.0 trillion to $4.1 trillion.
(FT)