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Tourism trapped

Hello. Today we look at the cost of lost tourism, the recovery in U.S. metro areas and which British graduates earn the most money. 

Closed Beaches

The cost of not hitting the beaches, museums and airports is mounting.

A new study by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development reckons the slump in global tourism will cost the world economy more than $4 trillion over 2020 and 2021. 

That's worse than originally estimated and reflects an uneven rollout of vaccinations and the continuation of restrictions in many tourist hotspots. 

Among those suffering the loss of travelers are Thailand and Turkey.

"Tourism is a lifeline for millions, and advancing vaccination to protect communities and support tourism's safe restart is critical to the recovery of jobs and generation of much-needed resources, especially in developing countries," said UN World Tourism Organization Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili.

There are also side-effects.

The crash in tourism has led to an average rise of 5.5% in unemployment of unskilled labor, hitting a sector that employs many women and young people, according to UNCTAD. 

And fewer visitors threatens closely linked sectors such as food, beverages, retail trade, communications and transport.

Simon Kennedy

The Economic Scene

Washington DC is enjoying a strong economic rebound, good news for a city where the population of Black and White residents is about evenly split. The District of Colombia is seeing some the lowest unemployment rates among major metropolitan areas for both racial groups, according to an analysis by Bloomberg. That's only partly explained by the concentration of jobs in the federal government.

Today's Must Reads

  • Early taper? | Fed Governor Christopher Waller said the better-than-expected performance of the U.S. economy warrants scaling back asset purchases sooner than expected.  
  • Inflation pain | The outsized pay gains Americans are enjoying are still failing to keep pace with inflation, dividing politicians as Republicans warn President Joe Biden's plans will further fan prices.
  • Working women | The sending home of thousands of British school children is creating fresh angst for working women. Figures released Tuesday showed that a total of 375,000 pupils in state-funded schools were absent for a Covid-related reason on June 24.
  • Holding up | China's manufacturing output continued to expand in June, a key survey showed, with signs price pressures are easing as the government clamps down on surging raw material costs.
  • Caribbean taxes | Palm-fringed tax havens which lure businesses by offering low levies may suffer from the attempt by rich nations to adopt a global minimum corporate tax rate
  • Happy 100th birthday | The South African Reserve Bank marks its centenary this week and finds itself on the cusp of raising rates. 

Need-to-Know Research

Bloated budget deficits may not be the free lunch many claim. A study published this week by the National Bureau of Economic Research reckons that "seemingly free deficits may, on careful inspection, be far more costly than they appear." In fact, the authors argued that attempts to redistribute money between generations can backfire by encouraging even more "inefficient" deficit financing. 

On #EconTwitter

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