ARTICLE | Economic Trends
Moving from economic inter-dependence to independence
Decisions taken by various governments to avert the economic slowdown caused by the COVID-19 pandemic are now beginning to bring economies back to normal. However, the economic standpoint of cities post-pandemic is significantly different from that in the pre-pandemic period. While the importance that they are giving to public healthcare and emergency response systems is unprecedented, they are also re-aligning their trade and economic policies, particularly those with respect to globalisation Ashley Paul | Senior Sub-Editor
A
lthough the effects of the pandemic may not be able to end globalisation, they are certainly reversing the trend to some extent. Cities around the world are now looking inwards for economic stability and growth. They are now focusing
34 June 2021 | www.urbanupdate.in
on developing their domestic markets, businesses, industries and services to increase their gross domestic product (GDP). This, in turn, will not only change the global power dynamic but will also change the flow of goods between cities. As globalisation cannot be ended completely, the flow of goods will continue but may be lesser
in volume and concentrated to nonessential goods. Cities in countries like those in Africa and south Asia, however, may not align themselves this way, keeping in mind their constricted capacity of industrial growth. One of the main reasons why cities are doing this is because the pandemic made them realize that dependence
