The UK, along with a number of other countries in the OECD group, rolled out stimulus packages to support their economies. Getty
The UK, along with a number of other countries in the OECD group, rolled out stimulus packages to support their economies. Getty
The UK, along with a number of other countries in the OECD group, rolled out stimulus packages to support their economies. Getty
The UK, along with a number of other countries in the OECD group, rolled out stimulus packages to support their economies. Getty

Household income in OECD countries rises in first quarter


Fareed Rahman
  • English
  • Arabic

The real household income per capita in some of the world's biggest economies marginally rose in the first quarter of 2020, propelled higher by government measures to soften the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 0.1 per cent uptick in household income per capita in countries included in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) came despite a 2 per cent fall in real gross domestic product in the OECD area.

“For the OECD area as a whole, real household income growth outpaced GDP growth by 2.1 percentage points, the largest positive gap between the two measures since the financial crisis (2008),” the Paris-basd OECD said in its latest report.

A number of countries in the 37-member group have rolled out stimulus packages to help their economies cope the pandemic. In March, the US announced a $2.3 trillion (Dh8.4tn) relief package to support families as well as businesses affected by the crisis. The UK also pushed out a  $39 billion stimulus package to support its economy.

However, among the seven major OECD economies, only the US recorded positive growth in real per capita household income, while the other six including Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the UK and Japan posted negative growth during the period.

Positive growth was also recorded in Australia (0.5 per cent), Belgium (0.7 per cent), Finland (1.2 per cent), Greece (0.8 per cent), Ireland (0.7 per cent), The Netherlands (1.6 per cent), Slovenia (1.5 per cent), and Sweden (1.3 per cent), according to the OECD data.

In the US, the positive growth is due to “more limited impact of Covid-19 and, in turn, more limited containment measures” in the first quarter of this year, the report said.

The world economy is set to slide into the deepest recession since the Great Depression, with the International Monetary Fund projecting a 4.9 per cent contraction this year and a sluggish recovery in 2021.

The US, the world’s largest economy, is expected to contract 8 per cent in 2020, while growth in Germany, Europe’s largest and the world’s fourth-biggest economy, will shrink 7.8 per cent, according to the IMF. The UK economy is expected to contract 10.2 per cent and Japan's 5.8 per cent.

“In Italy, and Germany, real household income per capita declined markedly in the first quarter of 2020, by 1.8 per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively,” the report said.

The coronavirus outbreak has claimed more than 711,000 lives and infected more than 19 million people worldwide, according to Worldometers. More than 12 million people have recovered from the infection.

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Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov

Based: Dubai, UAE

Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality

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Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)

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Processor: 4nm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1/Exynos 2200, 8-core

Memory: 8/12GB RAM

Storage: 128/256/512GB/1TB

Platform: Android 12

Main camera: quad 12MP ultra-wide f/2.2, 108MP wide f/1.8, 10MP telephoto f/4.9, 10MP telephoto 2.4; Space Zoom up to 100x, auto HDR, expert RAW

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Front camera: 40MP f/2.2

Battery: 5000mAh, fast wireless charging 2.0 Wireless PowerShare

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Sept 15: Bangladesh v Sri Lanka (Dubai)

Sept 16: Pakistan v Qualifier (Dubai)

Sept 17: Sri Lanka v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 18: India v Qualifier (Dubai)

Sept 19: India v Pakistan (Dubai)

Sept 20: Bangladesh v Afghanistan (Abu Dhabi) Super Four

Sept 21: Group A Winner v Group B Runner-up (Dubai) 

Sept 21: Group B Winner v Group A Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 23: Group A Winner v Group A Runner-up (Dubai)

Sept 23: Group B Winner v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 25: Group A Winner v Group B Winner (Dubai)

Sept 26: Group A Runner-up v Group B Runner-up (Abu Dhabi)

Sept 28: Final (Dubai)

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The full list of 2020 Brit Award nominees (winners in bold):

British group

Coldplay

Foals

Bring me the Horizon

D-Block Europe

Bastille

British Female

Mabel

Freya Ridings

FKA Twigs

Charli xcx

Mahalia​

British male

Harry Styles

Lewis Capaldi

Dave

Michael Kiwanuka

Stormzy​

Best new artist

Aitch

Lewis Capaldi

Dave

Mabel

Sam Fender

Best song

Ed Sheeran and Justin Bieber - I Don’t Care

Mabel - Don’t Call Me Up

Calvin Harrison and Rag’n’Bone Man - Giant

Dave - Location

Mark Ronson feat. Miley Cyrus - Nothing Breaks Like A Heart

AJ Tracey - Ladbroke Grove

Lewis Capaldi - Someone you Loved

Tom Walker - Just You and I

Sam Smith and Normani - Dancing with a Stranger

Stormzy - Vossi Bop

International female

Ariana Grande

Billie Eilish

Camila Cabello

Lana Del Rey

Lizzo

International male

Bruce Springsteen

Burna Boy

Tyler, The Creator

Dermot Kennedy

Post Malone

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Michael Kiwanuka - Kiwanuka

Lewis Capaldi - Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent

Dave - Psychodrama

Harry Styles - Fine Line

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Joy Crookes

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