Doughnut Economics Model For Post-Pandemic Revival

The headline-making coronavirus continues to spread with nearly 5.0 million confirmed cases and 320,000 deaths across globally as at 19th May.

- Lionel Wijesiri

There is no way to tell exactly what the economic damage from this pandemic will be. Too much depends on what is unknowable how long the outbreak lasts, how many countries it afflicts badly and the extent to which a coordinated, concerted, fast-track policy response is mobilised and sustained.

WHAT NEXT?

The Covid-19 crisis will have a multifaceted impact on social, economic and political risks in Sri Lanka, but the extent of changes will depend largely on whether our Government will be able to contain the crisis relatively rapidly or whether it’ll persist for many more months.

As of now, the situation is remaining stable, since the country is put on lockdown and possibly elections postponed. The Government, in the meantime, is loosening fiscal policy to cushion the economic impact. The Government has repeatedly confirmed that they are fully equipped to face any unexpected eventuality once the lockdown is gradually relaxed.

SECOND BATTLE

Next comes the second battle – facing the post-pandemic economic challenges needing much effort and skill to deal with and the magnitude of which could be frightening. This challenge will raise its head through a variety of channels, including trade disruption, drops in investment and finance flows, falls in commodity prices, the potential collapse of tourism, and of course the direct health and economic impact of the virus itself.

All of these channels will add up to a major disaster to our economy. Naturally, it signals a bad beginning for the President’s planned economic revival.

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