You're reading: The Economist: The pandemic has caused the world’s economies to diverge

The Economist: The pandemic has caused the world’s economies to diverge

By The Economist.

Published Oct. 9, 2020 at 1:13 am

Kuwaiti traders wearing protective masks follow the market at the Boursa Kuwait stock exchange in Kuwait City on March 1, 2020. - Boursa Kuwait decided to close the main trading hall due to the COVID-19 coronavirus disease developments. Stock markets in the oil-rich Gulf states plunged on March 1 over fears of the impact of the coronavirus, which also battered global bourses last week. All of the seven exchanges in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which were closed the previous two days for the Muslim weekend, were hit as oil prices dropped below $50 a barrel.

Photo by AFP

In February the coronavirus pandemic struck the world economy with the biggest shock since the second world war. Lockdowns and a slump in consumer spending led to a labour-market implosion in which the equivalent of nearly 500m full-time jobs disappeared almost overnight.