World Bank Recovery Gap Exposes Structural Imbalances – Analyst
By: Solomon Nartey Tetteh
Economic Analyst Emmanuel Boateng has cautioned that the uneven global recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is deepening structural and financial challenges for emerging markets, including Ghana.
He made these comments in response to the World Bank’s latest report which noted that advanced economies have largely recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, while many emerging markets are still struggling to catch up.
Speaking on Business Breakfast on Zed 101.9FM, Mr. Boateng described this divergence as a clear reflection of long-standing structural and global imbalances within the international market architecture.
According to him, post-pandemic recovery has not been uniform across regions, explaining that advanced and emerging economies are experiencing markedly different outcomes.
“The response of the global market to the post-pandemic situation is not homogeneous,” he noted.
Mr. Boateng stressed that this imbalance has significant implications for Ghana, particularly in the areas of capital flows and international competitiveness.
He explained that when advanced economies record strong growth, investors are more likely to channel their funds into those markets, where returns are perceived to be more stable and risks comparatively lower.
“If conditions in the United States, for example, are more favourable than in Ghana, considering interest rates and other investment factors, investors will naturally move their capital there,” he said.
The Analyst stressed that emerging markets generally carry higher risk profiles, which affects investment decisions when weighed against expected returns.
He further stressed that this shift often results in tighter financing conditions for emerging markets like Ghana, as capital gravitates toward advanced economies offering safer and more predictable investment environments.
Mr. Boateng noted that the divergence in growth trajectories also distorts global demand patterns. While strong performance in advanced economies may provide limited benefits for Ghana such as increased tourism receipts and higher diaspora remittances, weak growth across emerging markets, particularly in Africa and parts of Asia, constrains broader export opportunities.
He emphasized that without stronger and more balanced global growth, emerging economies will continue to face restricted access to capital and limited expansion in trade, further reinforcing existing economic disparities.
