BEIJING – In its latest World Economic Outlook, the International Monetary Fund notes in passing that the economic impact of COVID-19 on emerging and developing economies has been much more severe than previously thought. While GDP growth rates in the developed world have returned to their pre-pandemic trends, those of developing countries are even lower.
The economic scars of COVID-19 across the developing world, particularly large debt overhangs and insufficient investment in future growth, will remain visible for decades. And as environmental disasters become increasingly frequent and more severe, the pandemic might be a harbinger of future shocks. COVID-19 is not the last or the most virulent virus the world will face.
After all, pandemics are far from the only environmental threat disproportionately affecting low-income countries. Climate change and biodiversity loss, together with antimicrobial resistance, air pollution, and lead poisoning, among others, all have the potential to act as significant drags on developing economies’ growth.