The dozens of items on the public agenda of the annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund this week include several sessions on climate change, food security, and other chronic world problems, some on inflation and trade, and attention as well to economic inclusion and digital currencies.
Comparatively absent: The coronavirus pandemic, a once-in-a-century crisis that has killed an estimated 6.5 million people since late 2019 and highlighted broad weaknesses in how the global economy is organized, will be directly addressed through a single panel on preparedness, and two others on issues related to the economic recovery.
Russia, a major commodities producer, is in veritable pariah status because of its invasion of Ukraine; Europe faces the prospect of recession from risks in part related to the war; China's economy is faltering under its still-strict zero-COVID policies; a winter energy crisis is possibly in the offing; liquidity strains have emerged in financial markets; inflation seems persistent; the response of the U.S. central bank to rising prices has strained financial markets.
Nations like Japan are still wrestling with restrictions, and only recently lifted limits on foreign travelers, while companies are struggling to understand how markets, consumers and workers have changed what they want and what they are willing to pay - or be paid - for it. Studies have begun documenting a potentially permanent blow to labor supply from the pandemic. One recent analysis concluded that ongoing infections are keeping about half a million people out of work in the United States; a recent U.S. Census survey on long COVID illness estimated 8.5 million people who are in jobs had symptoms that had lasted at least three months and reduced their ability to carry out day-to-day activities.