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The Economics of Health Outbreaks and Epidemics

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A special issue of Economies (ISSN 2227-7099).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2021) | Viewed by 141412

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Dr. Edward C. Hoang

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Department of Economics, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO 80918, USA
Interests: macroeconomics; macroeconomic policy analysis; public economics
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Dear Colleagues,

In 2002, the SARS virus outbreak was a health epidemic that affected 26 countries in Europe, North America, South America, and Asia. It originated as an animal virus which then affected humans. In 2012, MERS was another animal virus that caused infected humans to have severe respiratory infections, which continues to circulate in the Middle East. These severe human diseases caused by animal viruses are part of a larger family of viruses, known as coronaviruses.

At the end of 2019, another coronavirus which had not been previously identified in humans emerged from the Wuhan province of China. In 2020, the impact of this new infection on global health is at the forefront for many international authorities (e.g., the World Health Organization), and for researchers and policymakers from various academic disciplines.

Climate change and globalization are expected to exacerbate health epidemics, especially the morphing of animal diseases into new human ones. The novel coronavirus that emerged from Wuhan has caused significant global supply chain disruptions in commodities and goods from China. The impact of the coronavirus on consumer confidence and global supply chains has raised the expectation of a global recession.

Economies is inviting contributions to a Special Issue on epidemics and economics. Specifically, theoretical and empirical contributions sought for the Special Issue comprise rigorous research that addresses, but is not limited to, the following topics:

The macroeconomic impact of the disruption caused by health outbreaks and epidemics on trade imbalances, exchange rate movements, and market interest rates.
The microeconomic impact of the disruption caused by health outbreaks and epidemics on vulnerable populations.
The response of local, national, and multinational levels to health outbreaks and epidemics.
The management of the risk of health outbreaks and epidemics and the mitigation of their impacts.

Contributions to the Special Issue are encouraged to be made by 1 December 2020. Papers will be sent to referees and you will receive an editorial decision with detailed comments by 15 February 2021.

Dr. Edward C. Hoang
Guest Editor

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Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Economies is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 4350 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Characteristics of Regional Value Chains in the Sector of Chemicals and Pharmaceutical Products in the EU

by Ines Kersan-Škabić and Alen Belullo

Economies 2021, 9(4), 167; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies9040167 - 3 Nov 2021

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2970

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted trade flows, causing a trade drop in 2020 that was especially sensitive for pharmaceutical and medical products necessary to ensure public health. The production of pharmaceutical products is dispersed in a framework of global value chains. This study aimed to provide a detailed analysis of the EU situation in the sector of production of chemical and pharmaceutical products, to discover the fragmentation of production chains within the EU as well as globally. International inter-country input–output tables were employed to disaggregate the value-added created in EU member states. The GVC and RVC participation indexes, backward and forward participation, length of sourcing, and selling value chains were calculated and compared with the main global hubs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Economics of Health Outbreaks and Epidemics)

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15 pages, 324 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Ethnocentrism Effects on Consumers’ Behavior during COVID-19 Pandemic

by Giuseppina Migliore, Giuseppina Rizzo, Giorgio Schifani, Giuseppe Quatrosi, Luigi Vetri and Riccardo Testa

Economies 2021, 9(4), 160; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies9040160 - 22 Oct 2021

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 6999

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has upset everyone’s normal daily activities, generating psychiatric disorders and changing consumers’ preferences. Among others, the agri-food sector has experienced strong changes and, during the lockdown period, Italian consumers modified their purchasing habits in response to the fear and uncertainty generated by the spread of the virus. In order to find out the main consequences of the shock suffered during the period and to understand which factors have affected purchasing choices, an online survey was conducted on 286 Italian consumers. The results show that ethnocentrism has been the factor that most has influenced consumers’ behavior during the lockdown period and that consumers will continue to prefer national agri-food products when pandemic will be over, constituting a deep change to future eating habits. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Economics of Health Outbreaks and Epidemics)

14 pages, 302 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Financial Risk Taking on Profitability in the Pharmaceutical Industry

by Gergő Tömöri, Vilmos Lakatos and Bernadett Béresné Mártha

Economies 2021, 9(4), 153; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies9040153 - 14 Oct 2021

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 6432

Abstract

The significance of the pharmaceutical and commercial sectors in the national economy has noticeably intensified, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The main objective of this study was to gain a better insight into the main management characteristics of the actors in the sector. It was assumed that more efficient management of financial investments (acquisitions, loans) caused higher risk financial investment decisions in the pharmaceutical industry in order to place companies in a better position in view of equity investors, illustrated best as the profitability of equity (ROE). This paper examined one possible means of covering the extremely high indirect costs (R&D, marketing) of pharmaceutical companies, also justified by the restructuring of the industry and the effect of investments in long term financial instruments on the ROE of the same business entities. Built on the EMIS database, the analysis only used the indicators of those companies operating in the pharmaceutical industry in Visegrad countries for 2019. The authors sought to draw conclusions about possible management characteristics of the entire pharmaceutical sector of these countries using cluster analysis and linear regression. The initial assumption, or main hypothesis of the study, was that in one of the countries studied or for those businesses operating above a certain revenue category, the impact of a company’s risk-taking (which can also be expressed in terms of asset-based financial income) on profitability, may appear or intensify. The performed studies did not show a strong correlation between the explanatory and profit variables either at the national level or at the level of groups formed by regional market position. In other words, the extremely high level of indirect costs were mostly covered by sales of successful cash products, and companies not indebted to suppliers undertook significant risks in the field of financial investments, thereby offsetting the positive impact of the latter on earnings. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Economics of Health Outbreaks and Epidemics)

19 pages, 1792 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Predicting the Economic Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United Kingdom Using Time-Series Mining

by Ahmed Rakha, Hansi Hettiarachchi, Dina Rady, Mohamed Medhat Gaber, Emad Rakha and Mohammed M. Abdelsamea

Economies 2021, 9(4), 137; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies9040137 - 27 Sep 2021

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 7546

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought economic activity to a near standstill as many countries imposed very strict restrictions on movement to halt the spread of the virus. This study aims at assessing the economic impacts of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom (UK) using artificial intelligence (AI) and data from previous economic crises to predict future economic impacts. The macroeconomic indicators, gross domestic products (GDP) and GDP growth, and data on the performance of three primary industries in the UK (the construction, production and service industries) were analysed using a comparison with the pattern of previous economic crises. In this research, we experimented with the effectiveness of both continuous and categorical time-series forecasting on predicting future values to generate more accurate and useful results in the economic domain. Continuous value predictions indicate that GDP growth in 2021 will remain steady, but at around −8.5% contraction, compared to the baseline figures before the pandemic. Further, the categorical predictions indicate that there will be no quarterly drop in GDP following the first quarter of 2021. This study provided evidence-based data on the economic effects of COVID-19 that can be used to plan necessary recovery procedures and to take appropriate actions to support the economy. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Economics of Health Outbreaks and Epidemics)

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19 pages, 1035 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Productivity and Income Effect of Breast Cancer among Women in Southwestern Nigeria

by Josue Mbonigaba and Wilfred Gbenga Akinola

Economies 2021, 9(3), 129; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies9030129 - 8 Sep 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2961

Abstract

Women’s breast cancer (BC) in Africa is detrimental to development, given the role women play in their families and society’s well-being. Policymakers should be alerted to the effects of BC. This paper describes the income impact of breast cancer and assesses factors that influence income and productivity among women with BC. Cross-sectional data were collected using questionnaires on 200 women with clinically confirmed BC cases in Southwest Nigeria over 6 months. About sixty-one percent (61.5%) of the women with clinically confirmed BC cases were self-employed, 62% were absent at the workplace for 7 days, indicating that 31.8% suffered productivity loss at the workplace on average. Sixteen percent of women in the group were absent at the workplace for an average of 10 days, showing a 45.5% productivity loss at the workplace. Lastly, 22% of the women were absent at the workplace for more than 2 weeks on average. An increasing incidence of BC among women causes a 26.2% decrease in productivity level at the workplace. The results from simple linear regression corroborate the findings from the descriptive statistics that BC has a significant but inverse effect on women’s income and productivity. It showed that an increase in the number of confirmed cases of BC will decrease economic impact and productivity by 13.5% and 19.5%, respectively. These findings urgently call for the attention of the policymakers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Economics of Health Outbreaks and Epidemics)

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13 pages, 838 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Work from Home: Measuring Satisfaction between Work–Life Balance and Work Stress during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia

by Dodi Wirawan Irawanto, Khusnul Rofida Novianti and Kenny Roz

Economies 2021, 9(3), 96; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies9030096 - 25 Jun 2021

Cited by 155 | Viewed by 71074

Abstract

Coronavirus (COVID-19), which hit in early 2020, changed the way people live and work, and affected industries and organizations all over the world. Many organizations have begun to deliver a new way of working to adapt to these shifts effectively using teleworking or a work from home policy. The purpose of this study was to fill the gaps by investigating several potential predictors of job satisfaction during working from home from the impact of COVID-19 such as work–life balance and work stress. Using a quantitative approach, 472 workers who were forced to work from home all over Indonesia participated, and the responses were analyzed using Smart-PLS software. The study revealed that working from home, work–life balance, and work stress have a significant effect, both directly and indirectly, on job satisfaction. Working from home as a new pace of work can sustain job satisfaction as the current working atmosphere for Indonesian workers. In response to the collectivist setting, working from home can be a positive sign that needs to be paid attention to for the organization. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Economics of Health Outbreaks and Epidemics)

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14 pages, 1865 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Economic Impact of Lockdowns: A Persistent Inoperability Input-Output Approach

by Krista Danielle S. Yu, Kathleen B. Aviso, Joost R. Santos and Raymond R. Tan

Economies 2020, 8(4), 109; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies8040109 - 9 Dec 2020

Cited by 32 | Viewed by 11693

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced governments around the world to implement unprecedented lockdowns, mandating businesses to shut down for extended periods of time. Previous studies have modeled the impact of disruptions to the economy at static and dynamic settings. This study develops a model to fulfil the need to account for the sustained disruption resulting from the extended shutdown of business operations. Using a persistent inoperability input-output model (PIIM), we are able to show that (1) sectors that suffer higher levels of inoperability during quarantine period may recover faster depending on their resilience; (2) initially unaffected sectors can suffer inoperability levels higher than directly affected sectors over time; (3) the economic impact on other regions not under lockdown is also significant. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Economics of Health Outbreaks and Epidemics)

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22 pages, 649 KiB

Open AccessArticle

COVID-19, Government Response, and Market Volatility: Evidence from the Asia-Pacific Developed and Developing Markets

by Izani Ibrahim, Kamilah Kamaludin and Sheela Sundarasen

Economies 2020, 8(4), 105; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies8040105 - 20 Nov 2020

Cited by 40 | Viewed by 7364

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between COVID-19, government response measures, and stock market volatilities for 11 developed and developing economies within the Asia-Pacific region. Our period of study is between 15 February–30 May 2020. Using the continuous wavelet transformation (CWT) analysis and plots and GJR-GARCH analysis, we examined the effects of the COVID-19 public health crisis and the corresponding government measures on the respective domestic equity markets volatilities. The CWT plots showed a varying level of market volatilities at different investment horizons. All the sample countries, except Japan, experienced very low or low volatility over the short-term horizons. In contrast, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Laos experienced medium volatility over the medium-term horizons. Finally, China, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, and the Philippines experienced high volatility over the long-term horizons. The GJR-GARCH results further ascertain that market volatilities are affected by domestic events, notably, the COVID-19 government intervention measures. In most sample countries, the government measures significantly reduce market volatility in the domestic equity markets. Additionally, international events have also triggered market volatilities. Overall, our study offers several contributions and implications for practitioners and policymakers. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Economics of Health Outbreaks and Epidemics)

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24 pages, 3493 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Decline in Mobility: Public Transport in Poland in the time of the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Michał Wielechowski, Katarzyna Czech and Łukasz Grzęda

Economies 2020, 8(4), 78; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies8040078 - 29 Sep 2020

Cited by 129 | Viewed by 11820

Abstract

The aim of the paper is to assess changes in mobility in public transport in Poland, as a consequence of the development of the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyse the problem from the country and regional (voivodeships) perspective. The data come from Google COVID19 Community Mobility Reports, the Ministry of Health of Poland, and the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker. The research covers the period between 2 March and 19 July 2020. The obtained results show that there is negative but insignificant relationship between human mobility changes in public transport and the number of new confirmed COVID-19 cases in Poland. The strength and statistical significance of the correlation varies substantially across voivodeships. As far as the relationship between changes in mobility in public transport and the stringency of Polish government’s anti-COVID-19 policy is concerned, the results confirm a strong, negative and significant correlation between analysed variables at the national and regional level. Moreover, based on one factor variance analysis (ANOVA) and the Tukey’s honest significance test (Tukey’s HSD test) we indicate that there are significant differences observed regarding the changes in mobility in public transport depending on the level of stringency of anti-COVID-19 regulation policy both in Poland and all voivodeships. The results might indicate that the forced lockdown to contain the development of the COVID-19 pandemic has effectively contributed to social distancing in public transport in Poland and that government restrictions, rather than a local epidemic status, induce a greater decrease in mobility. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Economics of Health Outbreaks and Epidemics)

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19 pages, 2729 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Pandemic Preparedness and Public Health Expenditure

by Noura Eissa

Economies 2020, 8(3), 60; https://doi.org/10.3390/economies8030060 - 27 Jul 2020

Cited by 28 | Viewed by 10940

Abstract

The motive behind this article is investigating alternative indicator measures for the effectiveness of public health expenditure on pandemic preparedness, to explain the reasons behind country variations in containing crises such as Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The purpose is to analyse the shortcomings in the relationship between global public health expenditure and pandemic preparedness. The research methodology includes a macro-analysis of global health spending patterns, empirical and theoretical literature on global health expenditure, global health security indexes, and country case studies pre- and post-crisis. The results show that gaps in pandemic preparedness were already existent pre-COVID-19, calling for a new mind-set in the way public health expenditure is structured. Healthcare sustainability indicators should transition from traditional measures such as economic growth rates, public health expenditure rates, revenue coming from the healthcare sector, and rankings in the global health security index, to new awareness indicators. Public health expenditure, a facilitator of pandemic preparedness, coupled with the resilience of healthcare systems, could be used in conjunction with the traditional factors, along with the time element of a quick response to pandemic through preparedness schemes, the progress towards achieving sustainable health through the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and investment in national healthcare capital to ensure efficient resource allocation. The policy recommendations are the restructuring of public expenditure to expand the absorptive capacities of healthcare institutes, eventually leading to sustainability and universal health insurance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Economics of Health Outbreaks and Epidemics)

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