. The coronavirus has dominated all of our lives in recent months. Radical paths were taken by politicians in the form of lockdowns to contain the pandemic. But we should recognize that even if the coronavirus is a (major) challenge for us, we always have to keep a holistic view of world events. Just as there are epidemiological factors to consider in this crisis, there are also economic, social, cultural, political and other health factors at play. It is precisely these other factors that are so often forgotten in the panicky reporting, in the constant, manic tracking of the current infection numbers, that we want to take a look at in our series “The Costs of Coronavirus Lockdowns” in the coming weeks. Global poverty has seen a phenomenal decline for
Topics:
Simon Sarevski considers the following as important: 6b) Austrian Economics, 6b.) Austrian center, blog, coronavirus, extreme poverty, Featured, Lockdowns, newsletter
This could be interesting, too:
Frank Shostak writes Assumptions in Economics and in the Real World
Conor Sanderson writes The Betrayal of Free Speech: Elon Musk Buckles to Government Censorship, Again
Nachrichten Ticker - www.finanzen.ch writes Bitcoin erstmals über 80.000 US-Dollar
Nachrichten Ticker - www.finanzen.ch writes Kraken kündigt eigene Blockchain ‘Ink’ an – Neue Ära für den Krypto-Markt?
.
The coronavirus has dominated all of our lives in recent months. Radical paths were taken by politicians in the form of lockdowns to contain the pandemic. But we should recognize that even if the coronavirus is a (major) challenge for us, we always have to keep a holistic view of world events. Just as there are epidemiological factors to consider in this crisis, there are also economic, social, cultural, political and other health factors at play. It is precisely these other factors that are so often forgotten in the panicky reporting, in the constant, manic tracking of the current infection numbers, that we want to take a look at in our series “The Costs of Coronavirus Lockdowns” in the coming weeks.
Global poverty has seen a phenomenal decline for decades. For instance, half a century ago almost every second person in the world lived in extreme poverty. Today, even with a population twice as large as 1970, we managed to cut that number to below 10%. But for poverty to continue dropping people need to continue working, something coronavirus lockdowns and restrictions have not allowed. What is even worse, not only has the process stopped but it has been put in reverse.
As the World Bank reported, 2020 is expected to push between 119 and 124 million more people, into extreme poverty. The pandemic showed us how fragile the process of progress is. Since there is no end in sight to the pandemic, we can only hope for a not so dramatic increase in the stock of people living in extreme poverty in 2021.
More Statistics in Our Costs of Coronavirus Lockdowns Series:
- The Costs of Coronavirus Lockdowns: Introductory Article by Kai Weiss
- A Future Hunger Pandemic: 135 million more people are on the brink of starvation (UN World Food Program)
- Fear of Collapse for Small Businesses: 55 percent of European SMEs fear bankruptcy by September 2021 (McKinsley)
- Economies Lock Down, Deaths Spike: 1.4 million excess deaths of tuberculosis, 500.000 from illness related to HIV and 385.000 from malaria (WHO & Stop TB Partnership)
- Children Hurt Not by Corona – But by Lockdowns: children’s mental-health-related visits to the emergency departments in the U.S. increased by approximately 24% and 31% for children aged 5-11 and 12-17, respectively, compared to the same period in 2019 (CDC)
- Record-Breaking Budget Deficit in the U.S.: The U.S. government spent $3.1 trillion more than it collected in 2020. Who is supposed to ever pay back all this money has not been answered yet. (U.S. Department of the Treasury)
- Drug Addiction Intensifies: The number of people dying from drug overdose in the U.S.rose by 17% in the last twelve months. This only includes reported cases until May 31, 2020. (CDC)
- Governments Grow in Size: In Austria, Germany, France, and Italy government spending has risen dramatically in 2020. (European Commission, Statista, and Handelsblatt)
- Stillbirths on the Rise: more than 200.000 additional stillbirths could occur just in the next 12 months, concentrated in low- and middle-income countries. (UNICEF)
- Extreme Poverty Shifts Gear…in Reverse: 2020 is expected to push between 119 and 124 million more people, into extreme poverty. (World Bank)
You Might Also Like
Stillbirths on the Rise
2021-02-09
The coronavirus has dominated all of our lives in recent months. Radical paths were taken by politicians in the form of lockdowns to contain the pandemic. But we should recognize that even if the coronavirus is a (major) challenge for us, we always have to keep a holistic view of world events.
Weekly SNB Sight Deposits and Speculative Positions: SNB selling euros and dollars
2021-02-08
Update February 8 2021: SNB selling euros and dollars. Sight Deposits have fallen: The change is -0.3 bn. compared to last week, this means the SNB is selling euros and dollars.
The economic cost of lockdowns
2021-01-31
As many countries face their second or even third lockdowns (Germany, Austria, Israel), others (Switzerland, the United States) have done what they can to escape such repetitions. Much of the discussion about this drastic move involves its costs.
Vaccine Passports Are a Terrible Idea
2021-01-20
Vaccine rollout is advancing at snail pace in the European Union. At the same time, countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, and Israel are moving quickly to get large parts of the population vaccinated as promptly as possible. As Europe debates the success or failure of its vaccine policy, some countries want to be one step ahead and discuss the possibility of so-called vaccine passports.
A Future Hunger Pandemic
2020-12-29
The coronavirus has dominated all of our lives in recent months. Radical paths were taken by politicians in the form of lockdowns to contain the pandemic. But we should recognize that even if the coronavirus is a (major) challenge for us, we always have to keep a holistic view of world events.
Deflation: Friend or Foe?
2020-12-20
Deflation is the most feared economic phenomenon of our time. The reason behind this a priori irrational fear (why should we be afraid of prices going down?) is the Great Depression.
The Costs of Coronavirus Lockdowns
2020-12-11
Throughout the next weeks, we will regularly feature statistics showing some of the costs of the prevailing lockdown politics. This article is an introduction to this new series. All over Europe, life has come to a halt again. As a second wave of Coronavirus infections has arrived, social and economic life has largely once more, as was already the case in spring when COVID-19 first spread across the world.
Oil market outlook: Land in sight but rough seas ahead
2020-12-07
In November, new vaccines showed great promise in fighting Covid-19, and the exhilaration was clear in markets around the world. However, the enthusiasm was not sustained. Many experts and political leaders rushed to warn that while a vaccine could mean the end of the health crisis, the economy – and oil markets in particular – are still in for a rough ride.
Tags: Blog,coronavirus,extreme poverty,Featured,Lockdowns,newsletter