Welcome to the age of the hermit consumer
The world economy is witnessing a $600bn-a-year shift in behaviour
In some ways covid-19 was a blip. After soaring in 2020, unemployment across the rich world quickly dropped to pre-pandemic lows. Countries re-attained their pre-covid gdp in short order. And yet, more than two years after lockdowns were lifted, at least one change is enduring: consumer habits across the rich world have shifted decisively, and perhaps permanently. Welcome to the age of the hermit.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Apart, together”
Finance & economics October 28th 2023
- How health-care costs stopped rising
- America would struggle to break Iran’s oil-smuggling complex
- Investors are returning to hedge funds. That may be unwise
- Xi Jinping steps up his attempt to rescue China’s economy
- America and the EU demonstrate protectionism’s ratchet effect
- Welcome to the age of the hermit consumer
- Israel’s war economy is working—for the time being
From the October 28th 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Finance & economics
China meets its official growth target. Not everyone is convinced
For one thing, 2024 saw the second-weakest rise in nominal GDP since the 1970s
Ethiopia gets a stockmarket. Now it just needs some firms to list
The country is no longer the most populous without a bourse
Are big cities overrated?
New economic research suggests so
Why catastrophe bonds are failing to cover disaster damage
The innovative form of insurance is reaching its limits
“The Traitors”, a reality TV show, offers a useful economics lesson
It is a finite, sequential, incomplete information game
Will Donald Trump unleash Wall Street?
Bankers have plenty of reason to be hopeful