Ponzetto cited some economic estimates that predict the Italian economy could shrink by 1.4 to 1.6 percent this year, down from estimates of at least 0.4-percent growth for the year as a whole before the outbreak started.
"That would be a big fall but I think the contraction could end up being even more significant," Ponzetto said.
Alessandro Polli, a professor of economic statistics at Rome's La Sapienza University, agreed, saying problems related to the outbreak are eroding some of the long-time pillars of the country's economy.
"We cannot guess how big the economic impacts will be until we know how long this outbreak will last and how far it will spread," Polli said in an interview. "But we are already seeing significant damage to the economy."
Polli pointed to the plight of small and medium-sized enterprises that are the backbone of the Italian economy.
There are around 6.2 million companies in Italy compared to 4.5 million in France, according to the data firm Statistica, even though the French economy, based on International Monetary Fund estimates for last year, is more than a third larger than its Italian counterpart.
"There are many advantages to having an economy that is built on successful, innovative, small and medium-sized companies," Polli said. "But when there is a protracted crisis, these companies will suffer more than larger companies."
"If this coronavirus crisis lasts another two or three months or more, I worry that a larger number of these smaller companies will be crippled or they will fail," Polli added.
【国际英语资讯:News Analysis: Italian economy suffering multiple blows as coronavirus outbreak grows】相关文章:
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