The Impact of COVID-19 on Economy & Future Recovery Plan

AgAu.io
3 min readJun 14, 2021
A webinar series hosted by AgAu.io, TARCO NGO & AIER — The Bastiat Society

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge effect on economies all around the world. Never before in world history has economic activity fallen so quickly. On June 17 at 18:00 (CET) AgAu.io, TARCO NGO & AIER — The Bastiat Society are gathering representatives of the multilateral institutions, NGOs, academia, and private sector within the Webinar Series — The Financial Future We Want: Economy Post COVID-19. Register here to learn more from the cross-sector experts that are determined to look into the consequences and uncover the possible ways of recovery of the financial system.

The event will be moderated by Thierry Arys Ruiz, CEO & Founder of AgAu AG and MD of The Bastiat Society Switzerland with the following speakers:

  • Kristina Touzenis:Managing Partner BST-Impact; Head of Geneva Chapter of Women in Sustainable Finance| former Head of International Migration Law Unit at IOM;
  • Aleksander Berentsen : Professor of Economics | Faculty of Business and Economics | University of Basel. Research Fellow at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, a Technical Advisor for the Bank for International Settlement in Basel
  • Garry Gürtler: CEO of IWG Switzerland | Flexible Work Space

In order to discuss the recovery plan, we must first demonstrate the impacts of the pandemic. According to the International Monetary Fund, the decline in gross domestic product last year was the biggest since the Great Depression. Many people have lost their jobs or seen their incomes cut. Unemployment rates have increased across major economies. The International Labour Organization estimates it costs the equivalent of 255 million people full-time jobs. Researchers at the Pew Research Centre figure the global middle class shrank for the first time since the 1990s.

Source: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/02/covid-employment-global-job-loss/

Richard Kozul-Wright, head of the Division on Globalization and Development Strategies at UNCTAD maintained that the debt-relief initiatives for poorer countries, expected by the G20 group, is “extremely weak”, and the developing countries are not receiving the much-needed foreign direct investment.

Not all countries will be affected equally. The International Monetary Fund sees advanced economies less affected by the virus this year and beyond, with low-income countries and emerging markets suffering more.

Considering the impact of the COVID-19, UN DESA´s created the “Responding to COVID-19 and Recovering Better” document, regarding the economic and social impact of the health crises. They claim that the world should work together for effective decision-making on critical social and economic crises: designing inclusive stimulus packages; preventing a global debt crisis; supporting developing countries; and working together to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Now, the world is working together, helping developing countries address all the public and private challenges COVID-19 brought us. The SDGs are a roadmap for humanity and stabilizing the financial condition of developing countries is a priority. AgAu is determined to create an ecosystem where hard-working people can execute transactions instantly in a transparent and permission-less system. AgAus for SDG projects expects to unleash the unlimited potential within the nations that have suffered the most with COVID-19 impact, providing a reliable and sustainable alternative for countries with challenging economic situations.

In order to tackle the above-mentioned issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic AgAu.io, TARCO NGO & AIER — The Bastiat Society are gathering cross-sector experts on June 17th at 18:00 (CEST) for the Webinar Series — The Financial Future We Want: Economy Post COVID-19. Register here to learn more directly from industry experts about the inclusive and transparent financial system.

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AgAu.io

AgAu.io: The Peer-to-Peer, Electronic Money System backed by Ag (Silver) and Au (Gold) in Switzerland. Visit: www.AgAu.io