According to recent research, a national lockdown in developed countries not only presupposes movement restrictions but also helps people save money. Consumers in the world's largest economies managed to sock away significant sums. This, in turn, has created the potential for a recovery from the virus-induced crisis.
During the pandemic, consumers in developed economies saved $2.9 trillion. Economists consider these funds as the key driver of the global economic recovery. More than half of these funds were accumulated in the US, that is $1.5 trillion. This sum twice exceeds the average annual US GDP and is equivalent to the annual output of South Korea. After the lifting of containment measures, US citizens may decide to spend their savings, thus boosting the economic growth to as much as 9%.
However, a continuous crisis in the healthcare sphere and a gloomy labor market situation could become the main obstacles to the expected economic boom. Nevertheless, positive results of the mass vaccination program may encourage people to go shopping, visit restaurants and places of entertainment as well as to begin travelling and go to gyms.
