Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has had devastating health, social, economic, and financial impacts across the world. Governments have since introduced measures ranging from accommodative monetary policies to expansionary fiscal policies to manage the short-term impacts of the pandemic. However, the impacts and assistance differ by sectors and demographic groups. As the policy discussions move towards the recovery phase, it is important to have a sector approach to develop targeted recommendations for this medium-term growth phase.
This brief and a forthcoming report show that there are five sectors of common relevance to COVID-19 recovery across the five focus countries (Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Thailand). These sectors are: tourism, agro-processing, garments, electronics, and digital trade. In each of these sectors, there are unique challenges created by COVID-19 as well as differences in their growth prospects and opportunities. A set of policy interventions are outlined which could help address some of the current challenges and seize the available growth opportunities.
Click here for the Policy Brief and click on the button below for the full report. This report was further covered in a blog post by Development Asia – see here for the coverage.
