Third COVID wave will further dampen Algeria's economy

Significance

The government has reimposed social distancing restrictions, but a reinvigorated pandemic will hurt the economy further and forestall any economic turnaround.

Impacts

• Algeria may find itself at a disadvantage compared to Morocco and Egypt, which have made greater progress countering the pandemic.
• The longer Algeria’s economic turnaround is delayed, the more likely it is that the country will have to resort to external financing.
• If the country’s economic crisis becomes more acute, the president would likely reshuffle the cabinet in an effort to shift blame.
• The president himself may also come under pressure to resign.