realpolitikasia: Australia's loss per day from the lockdown almost same as Malaysia's but Australia's economy is 4 times larger -Is Josh Frydenberg reporting a lower loss in order to justify his lockdown?

by Ganesh Sahathevan

Josh from marketing?

Australia's Treasurer Josh Frydenberg, advised by his Department of Treasury, has announced that
Australia's coronavirus lockdown is cost ing AUD 4 Billion a week in reduced economic activity. The cost is in incomes lost as a result of workers being locked at home. Assuming a 5 day week the loss per day equals $800 Million.

In late April the Prime Minister of Malaysia announced that the loss per day to the Malaysian economy from his lockdown is RM 2.4 Billion or AUD 861.15 Million.
The Malaysian economy is 4 times smaller the size of the Australian economy (based on 2018 GDP numbers, and little changed in 2019).

How then the loss per day from their respective and similar lockdowns could be approximately equal (in fact the loss per day in Malaysia is about 7% greater than in Australia) is curious and raises the question whether Treasurer Frydenberg and his department are understating their numbers. The possible reasons for doing so include the justification for the lockdown , that is, that without the lockdown the economic loss to Australia would have been far greater. Consequently demonstrating a wide a gap as possible between the cost with and without lockdown is good politics.

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Australia

1.434 trillion USD (2018)