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For advanced economies dealing with economic disruptions from the coronavirus pandemic, the response of choice has been massive stimulus packages.

Africa is doing without them.

While central banks and governments in North America, Asia and Europe have offered trillions of dollars to prop up businesses hit by lockdowns and provide a safety net for the swelling ranks of the unemployed, a lack of liquidity restricts African governments from providing similar relief.

South Africa, the continent’s most industrialised economy, announced a R500 billion package, with less than half of that, or about 3 percent of gross domestic product, that’s new spending.

Ivory Coast came up with a support plan of $3 billion, or 5 percent of the world’s top cocoa grower’s output. That compares with stimulus worth 15 percent of gross domestic product in the US and 12 percent in Canada. Japan’s stimulus, including existing measures, equates to 42 percent of GDP. — Bloomberg.