BAKU, Azerbaijan, June 12
By Eldar Janashvili – Trend:
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) assessed the ease of achieving economic recovery of Azerbaijan in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic at 0.375, which puts the country ahead of China, Brazil and Mexico, Trend reports citing the EBRD.
The EBRD noted high employment in the country among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and also gave a moderate mark on indicators such as fiscal stimulation of the economy, employment in the public sector, in vulnerable sectors, as well as the level of dependence on main partners of trade turnover.
The dependence on the energy sector and the level of self-employment, have been determined as Azerbaijan’s weaknesses.
Based on the severity of the COVID-19 outbreaks, demographic structure, economic geography, labor market structure, and the scope of the promised fiscal response, the EBRD noted that many developed countries are in a better position to grow economies in the post-pandemic period than emerging economies, said the EBRD.
A low population density can contribute more to an earlier and faster relaxation of restrictions on social distance (public transport systems may not be compatible with social distance in large cities).
While the local population density in Central Europe, the Baltic States and Southeast Europe is relatively low, the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean, like many other emerging markets, are densely populated, with a large number of megacities and a higher proportion of the population living in medium and large cities, the EBRD emphasized.
France, Germany and the UK got the highest indicators for ease of achieving economic growth, while Tajikistan and Albania got the worst.
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