The world in 2020: New challenges expose systemic changes in the economy

Abstract

The slowdown in economic growth in the world was noted back in 2019, and in early 2020 it intensified due to the coronavirus pandemic. The large-scale decline in economic activity because of the closure of many leading economies affected all countries, disrupting the usual way of life and business mechanisms. Regulators and governments were forced to urgently implement a wide range of support measures. At the same time, the root causes of the current crisis lie outside the economic or financial sphere, which makes it different from the previous ones. Uncertainty is complemented by the fact that the traditional relations in the economy and in society are fundamentally changing. The established global supply chains are disrupted, the nature of labor relations is beginning to change, and the remote access regime is increasingly practiced. Economies are losing the ability to function as self-sufficient systems and require more and more support measures. As of the end of 2020, the likelihood of a second wave of the pandemic is quite high, while its duration and scale are still unclear; the prospects for further development of the world economy are becoming more and more uncertain, and the scale and mechanisms of stabilization of the situation are becoming more diverse and non-standard.