Jordanians optimistic about future of economy — survey

AMMAN — In a survey on the “current state of the economy”, which included 25 countries, Jordan jumped three places from 20th to 17th in the last quarter of 2019 compared with the last quarter of 2018. 

Global market research company Ipsos’ Jordanian Consumer Sentiment Index (JCSI) Q4 2019, a copy of which was obtained by The Jordan Times, posed the question: “Rate the current state of the economy in your local area using a scale from one to seven, where seven means a very strong economy today and one means a very weak economy.”

The index posed a second question, “Looking ahead six months from now, do you expect your personal financial situation to be much stronger, somewhat stronger, about the same, somewhat weaker, or much weaker than it is now?” which is meant to assess the “future personal financial situation”.

In terms of the second question, Jordan jumped six ranks from 15th to ninth place for the same comparison period.  

As for the “ability to invest in the future” index, Jordan jumped six ranks from 20th to 14th place within the same comparison period, the index showed. 

The JCSI also listed the main concerns for Q4 2019, which were unemployment, high cost of living/inflation and corruption, in which Jordan was placed 5th, 2nd and 10th, respectively. 

The index also included issues related to education, healthcare and crime and violence, in which Jordan ranked 9th, 17th and 22nd, respectively. 

Commenting on the index and its findings, Economist Husam Ayesh said that since the index measures people’s reactions to government measures taken in the fourth quarter of last year, the feedback was “positive”. 

Ayesh noted that the index addressed vital issues related to poverty, corruption and the economic conditions people face, stressing that while such surveys “do reflect the general impression on living and economic conditions and the causes that lead to their regression, they still remain general.”

There is a “gap” between the government-announced results and the feedback of people who are impacted by the government’s decisions, the economist said.

He noted that such indexes signal the core challenges faced by the Jordanian economy, including unemployment, inflation and high costs, corruption and people’s perception that the cost of living is constantly rising.

Ayesh said that the government’s measures “might temporarily alleviate the difficult conditions, but eventually, the results show, they are not powerful enough to actually bring about change”. 

Ayesh added that the recent government executive bundles “may have impacted targetted sectors, but their effect was temporary”.

As the government is scheduled to announce the fifth economic stimulus package, titled “E-services and digital transformation”, on Monday, Ayesh pointed out once more that this package “should have been focused on the tax system and banking sector, with the aim of bringing about strategic change that impacts all sectors of the economy”.