The dilemma of growing COVID-19 cases and reviving economic activity is crucial at this juncture which the leadership in the South Asia region will have to resolve and, herein, lies the challenge for it, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
Unlike many other regions, South Asia is densely populated with one of the highest poverty levels in the world
Within the four sub-regions of South Asia, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Bhutan will be doing better as compared to other countries of the region, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
South Asian nations would see a bilateral advantage in establishing trade and economic relationships with each other and the formal association of economic cooperation - SAARC- which they have set up would gain strength by giving each other more trade access and tariff concessions to their goods and services, writes Partha Pratim Mitra…
While countries of the South Asian region are taking individual steps to battle COVID-19, currency swaps have emerged as an important tool of economic cooperation in the region, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
In terms of a more vulnerable population which is less well paid, Afghanistan, India, Bangladesh and Nepal are more vulnerable as compared to the rest of the countries of the region, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
The data on the growth rates in Gross Domestic Product between 2015 to 2020 show that South Asia would show the maximum decline in 2020 after growing the fastest between 2015-2019 at an annual average rate of 6.1 percent as compared to 4.8 percent for Southeast Asia and 6.0 percent for East Asia, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South…
The distribution of the COVID-19 package across countries of the South Asian region shows that India has been one of the largest beneficiaries but the per capita package is lower than the Maldives and Bhutan due to the smaller population of these countries, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
Experts feel that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought about new opportunities for regional cooperation in South Asia with the setting up of an emergency fund of $10 million to fight the pandemic with India's initiative, writes Partha Pratim Mitra for South Asia Monitor
There seems to be a strong argument that the singular focus of the stimulus package should have been a fiscal stimulus, which would have increased public spending in physical or human capital, raised money in the hands of residents by direct cash transfers and subsidies and provided safety nets like job guarantee and unemployment benefits,…
