South Asia Economic Focus Report released by World Bank
Part of: GS Prelims and GS-II – International Relations; Education
In news
Biennial South Asia Economic Focus report was recently released.
Released by: World Bank
Title of the edition: “Beaten or Broken? Informality and Covid-19”.
Key takeaways
The report includes Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
It predicts that the extended closure of schools amid the Covid-19 pandemic could reduce India’s future earnings by between 420 billion USD and 600 billion USD.
This is so because depleted learning levels of students will translate into poorer productivity.
Impact on Education
Around 5.5 million students could drop out of schools across South Asia.
391 million students have been kept out of school in primary and secondary education due to lockdown.
Dropouts and learning losses would cost South Asia as much as 622 billion USD in future earnings and GDP.
Also, due to the closure of schools, the children may have forgotten their previous learnings.
The average child in South Asia may lose 4,400 USD in lifetime earnings once having entered the labour market, equivalent to 5% of total earnings.
Impacts on Economy
Impact on Informal Sector: The report has flagged damage to businesses, consumption patterns and imposed social hardship on poor and vulnerable households, especially urban migrants and informal workers in the South Asia region.
GDP: The regional GDP of the South Asia region is estimated to contract by 7.7% in 2020. India’s GDP can contract by 9.6% in 2020-21.
Labour productivity will also take a greater hit from Covid-19 than most previous natural disasters.
