How will the world economy pay for Covid-19? Speaking at the MGI Worldwide CPAAI 2020 Virtual Global Meeting, Paul Johnson of the IFS, gives his perspective

The Covid pandemic has resulted in the deepest and broadest global recession in history. Guest Speaker at the 2020 Virtual Global Meeting, Paul Johnson CBE, Director of Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), discussed the scale of the economic costs of the global pandemic across different countries and how, and why, they differ. 

A recording of his presentation is now available in the Webinars section of the member area.

A global economic review

In his talk, Paul gives a thought provoking review of the global economy, considers the impact of government borrowing to finance the pandemic, and the accompanying growth in debt and fall in interest rates. He focuses particularly on the question of how we will eventually repay this debt, exemplifying the extent of fiscal retrenchment likely to be needed.

Paul considers the size of cuts to come, welfare and tax. He also examines radical changes in pension policy and how well pensioners are doing relative to those of working age; the behaviour of the labour market; and how we have witnessed a fall in living standards combined with a fall in inequality.

For the password to the webinar recording, please contact [email protected] or visit the Webinars page in the member area.

About Paul Johnson

Before heading the independent research institute, Paul was the Treasury’s Director of Public Spending. He now heads up the IFS, arguably the country’s leading economic research organisation.

MGI Worldwide with CPAAI is a top 20 ranked global accounting network and association with almost 10,000 independent auditors, accountants and tax experts in some 460 locations in over 100 countries around the world.