The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Economists to share views at virtual Courier business event
FUTURE: Online business breakfast to hear predictions for post-Covid world
Coronavirus has put an unimaginable strain not just on the national economy but on industries across the world.
As we start to emerge from lockdown and begin to restart society it is only natural we look at what the future has in store.
In 2019 it was believed Brexit was the biggest threat facing businesses in the immediate future. And in September economists Graeme Roy, professor at Fraser of Allander Institute (FAI) and Deliotte’s Debapratim De spoke at length about the economic forecast and challenges ahead.
But with the UK still set to leave the EU at the end of the year, while also recovering from the turmoil of a worldwide pandemic, what is the economic forecast now and what can businesses be doing to adequately prepare?
Nine months on, both economists will share with The Courier viewers their predictions for what lies ahead for life after Covid-19 in a virtual business breakfast on June 24.
Mr Roy is head of economics and director of the Fraser of Allander Institute at Strathclyde University.
Mr De is a senior manager at Deliotte and advises clients on macroeconomic developments in the UK and other advanced economies.
In March, Mr Roy made an early prediction that the impact of the outbreak would be “much bigger” than the 2008-09 financial crash which caused thousands of businesses to fail, unemployment to soar and property prices to plummet.
Scotland’s economy contracted by 4.5% over a period of five quarters between 2008 and 2009.
Mr Roy said his best prediction for the impact of Covid-19 would be a “high single digit or even double digit” hit to the economy over the next year
– the equivalent of the entire Scots whisky industry being wiped out three times over or a third of the Scottish Government’s budget being lost.
The online event will take place at 8am and people can book by emailing laadam@dctmedia.co.uk