With more than half of humanity staying indoors because of the coronavirus pandemic, the global economy has come to a halt and all sectors have suffered tremendously.
In such a gloomy scenario, what can be done to improve the situation?
Economists worldwide have suggested that large scale government spending and tax exemptions for the people and firms can help revive the economy. This is then expected to boost the demand in the economy, which will then increase the production, raise employment and income levels which will then increase the consumption in the nation.
This is exactly what a stimulus plan does.
ALSO READ: NewsMobile Explainer: What does US Crude oil price crash mean for India?
Below are few nations that have announced a revival plan for their respective economies.
The US was among the first few countries to announce a fiscal stimulus of USD 3 trillion. This is expected to help critical sectors of the economy, create employment and kickstart the economy.
While Germany is spending a whopping £236 billion and is emerging as the largest fiscal stimulus package in Europe.
Amongst the developing nations, South Africa has decided to spend USD 26 billion as a fiscal stimulus. The nation where the unemployment scenario already showed worrying signs has further been severely impacted by the virus. This will lead to more public debt but is being seen as the only way to come out of the crisis.
Japan has decided to spend USD 997 billion to revive its economy. An economy that is known worldwide for being technologically efficient has been impacted in numerous ways by the virus. The Olympics 2020 which Japan was about to host also remains uncertain.
Finally, Italy, the most affected nation in Europe hopes to spend £50 billion to kickstart the economy and revive its manufacturing sector.
Nations are readying plans to lift the lockdown and provide some support to the economy which has been devastated by this virus.
The number of confirmed cases across the world now stands beyond 2.5 million with the death toll crossing 1.7 lakh, according to the latest tally by Johns Hopkins University.