With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic during the end of 2019 in China and its subsequent spread, economies around the world have suffered a major setback. Even with the arrival of the vaccine, the gloom of pessimism never seems to fade away. But optimism prevails among many, not without reasons. The consolation lies in the thought that setbacks for the economies of countries, in general, have occurred recurringly in the past and the world has overcome them. Let’s take a look at five of the major economic crisis which shook the world and how the world has shown its resilience in the past;
- The credit crisis of 1772 began in London and it quickly spread across Europe. Panic erupted across the European region but then things fell back to normal and the crisis was forgotten.
- The “great depression” was the worst economic debacle of the 20th century. This crisis lasted for almost 10 years between 1929 and 1939. Many believe it was caused by the Wall Street crash in 1929 and later it worsened due to poor policies made by the U.S. It led to massive loss of jobs, a decline in productivity and an increase in the unemployment margin which affected not only the U.S. but many other countries as well.
- The OPEC oil price shock in 1973 and the Asian financial crisis of 1997 also tell us stories of the times when the economy of the world was hit.
- Fresh in our minds is the Great Recession that occurred between 2007 – 2009 when the world recorded one of the worst economic disasters. It was the period when many business organizations were brought on the brink of extinction. Yet the world recovered.
- The Spanish flu, also known as the 1918 influenza pandemic created a hurdle for the progress of the world but it was fought and defeated.
Once the COVID-19 vaccine is administered, the prevailing dark situation is expected to ease and the pandemic will be history. One has to consider the fact that in today’s age and time due to the swiftness in news relays and overall communication necessitated by the digital world; situations are being exposed like never before. The world has braved economic catastrophes in the past and is bound to regain its glory.
