1999. for example, the year - on - year growth rate of real gdp increased from minus 0. 4 % in the first quarter of 1999 to plus 0. 7 % in the same quarter of 2000, and industrial production growth rose from minus 3. 8 % in the first quarter of 1999 to plus 7 % in the second quarter of 2000. business sentiment in terms of the tankan diffusion index for all industries and sizes of firms has substantially improved from minus 44 in march 1999 to minus 18 in june 2000. and, the consensus forecast of the private sector for real gdp growth for this fiscal year has been revised upward from 0. 8 % at the beginning of this year to 1. 5 % recently. moreover, june ’ s tankan survey showed that corporate profits were expected to mark a double - digit increase for two consecutive years in fiscal 1999 and 2000. while inflation in terms of wpi is slightly above the previous year ’ s level, that in terms of cpi is slightly below. there are a number of factors responsible for the moderate economic recovery. first and foremost is the implementation of several important policy measures to restore financial system stability. public funds were injected into major banks to strengthen their capital base and a legal framework was established to speed up the bankruptcy process. under such circumstances, financial institutions themselves are striving to reconstruct their management. the second factor is support from macroeconomic policy, which includes both fiscal policy of the government and the zero interest rate policy of the bank of japan. the third factor is the upturn of overseas economies. in addition to the expansion in the united states and europe, asian economies have been recovering rapidly after overcoming currency and financial crises. the fourth factor is the boom in the high - tech and it - related business areas. whether trends like the it revolution witnessed in the united states will spread to japan depends on how firms and individuals as users take advantage of information technology. japanese producers related to high - tech business have swiftly responded to the rapid increase in demand both at home and abroad, and an increasing number of them have been expanding investment reflecting the tightening supply and demand conditions. it is natural that economic recovery leads to the question of whether the zero interest rate policy should be terminated. as i mentioned, the bank of japan announced in april 1999 that it would continue the zero interest rate policy until deflationary concern had been dispelled. discussions at subsequent monetary policy meetings have disclosed that such deflationary concern would be dispelled if we

anita angelovska bezhoska : covid - 19 and economic influence on women address by ms anita angelovska bezhoska, governor of the national bank of the republic of north macedonia, at the international conference “ women in foreign policy ”, panel “ covid - 19 and economic influence on women ”, skopje, 15 september 2021. * * * accompanying presentation : bis. org / review / r211208k _ presentation. pdf minister shahpaska, deputy minister isaki, ladies and gentlemen, first, let me thank the organizers for inviting me to participate in this very important event, devoted to a topic relevant for our context in particular. i was asked to speak on covid - 19 and the implications this health and economic crisis had on women. last year, as we all know, we faced one of the biggest crises since the great depression. it started as a health crisis but over time it evolved into economic crisis that in a synchronized way affected all economies in the world and only 27 countries in the world registered positive yet very small growth rates. according to the estimates of the imf, the economic costs of the crisis would have been 3 times higher and stronger in the absence of the monetary, fiscal and financial sector supportive policies. one of the main features of this crisis, which distinguishes it from other crisis episodes, is its disproportionality. in fact, this crisis in a disproportionate way affected different economies, sectors, and age and gender groups, thus increasing income inequality. global data reveal that close to 95 million people during 2020, fell below the threshold of the poverty line, more that it was expected or projected at the start of the crisis. in this context, labor market data clearly indicate that youth, low skilled workers and women particularly in emerging and developing economies, have been hit harder. there is statistics pointing to a global employment rate for men below the pre - pandemic level by about 5 percentage points, while the women employment rate is still 7 percentage points below the prepandemic level. given the nature of the crisis, western balkan region was not shielded from this global shock. economies in the region are small and highly open in trade and financial terms, heavily exposed to external developments. gdp in the region declined by 3. 4 % in 2020, but with intensity that differs across counties in the region, ranging from – 1 % in serbia to – 15. 2 % in montenegro. hence