coronavirus impact: Developing economies could see sharper recession in 2020, World Bank warns

WASHINGTON: Senior World Bank officials on Friday warned that developing economies could see a deeper recession than currently expected if consumption and investment do not rebound quickly in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

In a blog posting on the Bank’s website, the officials said the preliminary baseline scenario forecast a “grim” 2% drop in economic output in developing countries – the first contraction in these economics since 1960.

But it said growth outcomes could be ‘considerably worse’ and output in those economies could drop by nearly 3% if just one of the Bank’s assumptions failed to materialize, and investment and consumption did not rebound.