World economy back to pre-pandemic level in 2021: OECD

The global economy may get back to pre-pandemic levels by the end of next year as vaccines help propel recovery, but growth is likely to be uneven, the OECD said on Tuesday.

Signs that vaccines could now be weeks away from distribution have injected cautious optimism as the year limps to a close with COVID-19 having claimed some 1.4 million lives.

“For the first time since the pandemic began, there is now hope for a brighter future,” OECD chief economist Laurence Boone wrote in her introduction to the organisation’s latest review of the global economic outlook.

“Progress with vaccines and treatment have lifted expectations and uncertainty has receded,” she said, acknowledging that virus containment measures would likely be necessary for some months to come.

“The road ahead is brighter but challenging,” Boone added.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development now sees world output dropping by 4.2 per cent this year thanks to the months-long lockdowns that slowed the spread of the coronavirus but threw a wrench into the global economy. 

But it forecasts the world economy to snap back with 4.2 per cent growth in 2021.

The forecasts for the contraction and the...