Elevated commodity prices could prolong inflationary pressures
WASHINGTON, October 26, 2022—The shrinking value of the currencies of most developing economies is driving up food and fuel prices in ways that could deepen the food and energy crises that many of them already face, according to the World Bank’s latest Commodity Markets Outlook report.
East Asia prides itself on rapid economic progress over the past few decades with millions
lifted out of poverty. Between 2008 and 2018, real per capita GDP in the region grew at an average rate of 6.7 percent per year, significantly above the global average of 1.5 percent. Yet the extent of progress on poverty is exaggerated by the fact that poverty thresholds are set too low compared to other countries at similar income levels. This leads to policies which do not do justice to the scale of the problem. New numbers released by the World Bank using global benchmarks underscore this point.
Domestic food price inflation remains high around the world. Information between May to
September 2022 shows high inflation in almost all low-income and middle-income countries; 88.9% of low-income countries, 91.1% of lower-middle-income countries, and 96% of upper-middle-income countries have seen inflation levels above 5%, with many experiencing double-digit inflation. The share of high-income countries with high food price inflation has risen to 85.7%.
The COVID19
pandemic triggered a historic setback, pushing 70 million people into extreme poverty in 2020 – the largest one-year increase in three decades. The war in Ukraine deepened the global economic slowdown, which is now in its steepest decline following a post-recession recovery since 1970.
Hello everyone and let me start by expressing my appreciation to you and the Japanese government for hosting us for this launch of the IDA20 replenishment, in which Japan has played such a leadership role. I would like to thank the Finance Minister personally for playing such a crucial part in this process. I would also like to thank and congratulate the colleagues gathered here in Tokyo today, coming from all over the world, for making IDA20 a successful replenishment.
Food lines that stretch across multiple city blocks. Spiraling unemployment. Out-of-control inflation. Unsustainable debt. These issues, which traumatized many economies across Latin American in the 1980s, continue to reverberate today and,
given current economic conditions, you could be forgiven for fearing that history is about to repeat itself.
However,
The debt crises of the 1970s and 1980s were searing experiences that find an echo in today’s troubles. Then, as now, Latin American countries had large debt loads. Then, as now, the global economy experienced unique macroeconomic shocks that sent inflation soaring (the Arab oil embargo then; the pandemic and Ukraine war now). And then, as now, central banks around the world – especially the US Federal Reserve – were raising rates to fight inflation.
From education to entrepreneurship, global recovery efforts need to pay
particular attention to the needs of women and girls.
When the 2008 recession hit, few asked how stimulus measures would affect women compared with men.
Firms and workers continue to be deeply impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic as it enters its 
eleventh month. Building on insights from COVID-19 Business Pulse Surveys, the first blog post in this series described the implications of the crisis for firm sales, employment, and financial performance, while the second discussed record levels of uncertainty and firms’ coping strategies, including adoption of digital technology. This third and final part of the series focuses on public policy responses.
The toxic cocktail of climate change, conflict, and COVID-19 is making itself felt most intensely 
in the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries. As a result, a record 235 million people worldwide will need humanitarian assistance and protection in 2021 – an increase of 40% from last year.
Netherlands for the World Bank 
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