The US, China, and India are now mainly driven by faster global growth. President of the World Bank, David Malpass said he was concerned about growing inequality because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He said that there are inequality concerns about vaccines and median incomes also, which for some countries are not growing very rapidly.
“However, there is a concern that there is inequity. Inequality in terms of vaccinations, as well as in terms of median income, is not increasing quickly in some countries and may even be decreasing. There’s the interest rate differential, in which poor countries have much higher interest rates than rich countries, which haven’t fallen in line with global interest rates “he stated
“The good news is that there is faster global growth, driven primarily by the US, China, and India, with strong rebounds,” Malpass told reporters at the start of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank’s Spring Meetings. Vaccines, climate change, debt, and recovery are among the topics discussed at the annual spring meeting, which is being held virtually.
According to Malpass, there is a disparity in the bankruptcy process, which is not available to sovereign countries, leaving poorer countries with no way out of their crippling debt burdens. “There’s also inequality in terms of credit access, with a lot of the stimulus going to the upper end, and people who don’t have pristine credit ratings, for example, or small businesses, new entrants, women who want to start a business, having a lot of difficulties getting credit,” Malpass said.
The World Bank and the IMF, according to Malpass, are collaborating closely to ensure the successful implementation of the G20’s Common Framework, for dealing with unsustainable debt situations. He said there was a call for the private sector to provide comparable debt treatment. In response to a question, Malpass stated that the vaccine rollout is taking too long, particularly in Europe.
“It’s disheartening. Every day, we hear about the various challenges that countries face in the news. As excesses become available in other countries, I fervently believe, wish for, and hope for a faster rollout. We can also count on regulatory agencies to expedite vaccine approvals so that more vaccines can be approved “, added Maplpass.
Getting vaccinated, he said, is an important part of people’s safety and global recovery. “So, I share Germany’s sentiment that there may be a softening of their GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth forecast related to the vaccine problem,” Malpass continued. “It redoubles everyone’s urgency and efforts to have more vaccines available worldwide,” concluded Malpass.
