The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is calling on Group of Twenty (G20) member states to continue pumping money into their economies to help offset the devastating effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
In an announcement posted to its blog on Monday (Nov. 2), the IMF said that swift action by the G20 has “helped avert an even worse economic crisis in the wake of COVID-19 than what has been witnessed.”
In March, leaders of the G20 said they would infuse $5 trillion into the global economy to help counter the impact of the pandemic.
The organization noted on Monday that G20 members have provided approximately $11 trillion in economic support to businesses, individuals and the healthcare sector since the pandemic emerged this past spring. It added that as a result of these policies, nearly all of the G20 economies are projected to see their fiscal deficits narrow in 2021.
But the IMF also warned G20 members that any winding down of financial support for their economies would likely result in widespread bankruptcies and deepen the economic crisis. Means of support cited by the group include cash transfers to individuals and households, deferred taxes and business loans. The organization also encouraged members to foster policies that build long-term resilience, such as those that promote decarbonization.
Last month, the IMF projected that the global economy would contract 4.4 percent in 2020, but would see growth of 5.2 percent in 2021, according to a report by Reuters.
In October, the IMF called for additional government assistance for women and younger workers, stating that the lockdowns had a greater impact on those groups. The agency said that women faced greater economic hardship because of their reliance on childcare to work, while younger people were more likely to be employed in less stable, more labor-intensive jobs.
The U.S. is currently experiencing a second wave of COVID-19 infections. Last week, 36 states reported a spike in new cases, while the average number of patients hospitalized with the virus climbed at least 5 percent.
