Covid-19 and Global Economic Slowdown

Ananya Sharda
Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource
Development
Business Communication Essay
October 12, 2021
 Abstract

The year 2020 is synonymous with the Covid-19 pandemic. The pandemic bought the world

to a standstill. Thousands lost their jobs, their livelihood and their loved ones. It has also had

a devastating impact of the global economy. It forced many countries to go into recession and

it is currently predicted that it would take another 2 years for things to become normal again.

However, the pandemic does have some positive aspects related to itself as well. It has given

a much needed boost to the online technological industry, which if not for the pandemic

would have been achieved after a decade. It also had a positive impact on the environment

and taught us the importance of a healthy lifestyle. Economically speaking however, the

effects of the pandemic are truly disastrous.

 Essay

The year 2020 is synonymous with the Covid-19 pandemic. The whole world came to a

standstill after there was an outbreak of the virus. Not only did it affect the way we work but

also the way we eat, travel, and even dress. The impact of the pandemic on our lives was

humongous and devastating. Some of us lost our income, our house, our saving while more of

us lost a close one. It had a catastrophic impact on all economies around the world and

showed us that even though we are reaching the heights of new technologies every day we

still had a long way to go to become ready for such unforeseen situations. The pandemic

forced many countries to go into recession and it is currently predicted that it would take

another 2 years for things to go back to the way they were.

Ever since the first case of covid 19 emerged in China in November 2019, the economies of

the world have seen a downward shift in almost all industries except for a few. The pandemic

had bought along with itself a negative as well as a positive impact on industries. While it

forced some sectors like travel, tourism and hospitality sectors to shut down, it also helped in

booming the tech centre. The pandemic also had a huge impact on the global economy as a

whole. It also forced a lot of countries into recession. Many countries are still trying to come

back to their position before the pandemic had before the pandemic. The current death toll is

more than 4 million and the approximate loss to the global economy is estimated to be around

$5 trillion. Economies around the world are projected to shrink by somewhere in between 5%

to 12% while the average per capita income has seen a reduction of about 70% which is one

the worst in global history. Many industries like oil and gas industry, tourism and hospitality

industry, entertainment industry around the globe have seen an unprecedented collapse.

These industries have not only taken the hardest hit but also will take the longest to get back

on their feet. It is predicted that the economy will take another 2 years to reach its pre-
pandemic stand. The impact however, is not completely negative. Many industries like the

personal healthcare sectors have seen a growth as the audience shifted to products which

would give them immunity and have a positive impact on their body. Another industry which

has seen a surprisingly tremendous growth is the technological industry. As everything went

online, the demand for online infrastructure increased manifold. There was not just a need for

laptops, internet packages but also newer and faster softwares for better results. Following

this there has been a huge increase in the demand for data analysts and technological experts

who are receiving a very high pay package. Online payments have also seen a huge rise in

demand as it helps in providing the minimum touch factor which was very important during

these times. In India Paytm is expected to have an IPO of about 16,000 crores rupees.

However, despite the silver lining it is very difficult to say when exactly the economies

around the world will be back on track, especially considering the various variants of the

corona virus emerging around the world. To boost their economy countries have slashed their

interest rates so as to increase the spending power of the consumers. However further delays

in lifting lockdowns may hinder such plans also. Global stock market is also one such place

where the effects of the pandemic were not only felt but also changed the complete tide. In

India Sensex has crossed the 60,000 mark and Nifty has touched the 18,000 mark. During the

pandemic huge amount of pay-cuts were seen. As a result of this people shifted to alternate

sources of income. Stocks seemed to be a path chosen by many. After a few months of

lockdown there were huge increase in the market value of various stocks. Even though many

experts were sceptical that the stock markets might crash as a result of the lockdown there

was an opposite reaction. Another positive aspect of the pandemic is the impact it had on the

environment. On the other hand the issues with mental health also cropped up. The mental

health became an important topic to discuss during the pandemic as many people had either
lost their jobs or were working from home. The unemployment rate in India rose by about 5%

only 3 months after the pandemic.

There is no doubt about the fact that the pandemic bought the world to a standstill. Thousands

lost their jobs, their livelihood and their loved ones. The fact that is even scarier is that

despite being so technologically advanced the world was bought down to its knees as there

was no way that such countless deaths could have prevented without strict measures like

lockdown which unfortunately had the worst effect on the lower middle class population.

However the lockdown does have some positive aspects related to itself too. It has given

various technological industries such as Artificial intelligence and data analytics a much

needed boost. Besides this the online streaming industry has also gained a lot during this

pandemic as their consumer base has apparently multiplied 4 times.

 References

 Global Economic Outlook ( June 8, 2020)

https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2020/06/08/the-global-economic-
outlook-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-a-changed-world
 Coronavirus effect on global economy (September 29, 2021)
https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-
insights/the-coronavirus-effect-on-global-economic-sentiment
 How the pandemic changed the world economy ( January 24, 2021)
https://www.bbc.com/news/business-51706225