Estimated impact of COVID-19 on the Jordanian economy

Abstract

This study aims to estimate the negative effects of COVID-19 on the Jordanian economy. These effects are expected to coincide with the results of studies carried out by international institutions. For example, the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated indicate an increase in the number of unemployed to 5.3 million (the “low” scenario) and 24.7 million (the “high” scenario), from a baseline of 188 million in 2019 (ILO, 2020a). Experts from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) confirmed that the global economic downturn (caused by the coronavirus pandemic) is the largest in the past eight decades, which will lead to an increase in poverty and inequality and harm economic growth in the long term. (News 18, 2020). To measure the impact of COVID-19 on the Jordanian economy, the following indicators were adopted: an economic growth, an unemployment rate, a foreign trade (imports and exports), public revenues, public spending, a public debt, and a budget deficit. The study relied on data contained in reports issued by international institutions and official institutions in Jordan. The results indicate a slowdown in the rate of economic growth, an increase in the unemployment rate, a decrease in exports and imports, an increase in the public debt and the budget deficit