Question

Suppose you are a highly ranked policy maker in a country. You have been asked to prepare an analytical report by evaluating the macroeconomic policies that the country currently has implemented or is going to implement to address the consequences of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the country. The evaluative report should draw on previous failed and/or successful experiences from pandemics (such as the Spanish flu in 1918, the Asian flu in 1957, and the Hong Kong flu in 1968) from any country.

Provide a Problem statement, and for literature analysis, provide a brief  systematic overview of existing studies relevant to the topic(s) and question(s) and for analysis, Including various macroeconomic variables, concepts, theories, models, and designs relevant to the topic(s) and question(s)

Answer 1

ANALYSIS REPORT

The goal is not to be definitive about the virus outbreak, but rather to provide information about a range of possible economic costs of the disease. At the time of writing this paper, the probability of any of these scenarios and the range of plausible alternatives are highly uncertain. In the case where COVID-19
develops into a global pandemic, our results suggest that the cost can escalate quickly.

A range of policy responses will be required both in the short term as well as in the coming years. In the short term, central banks and Treasuries need to make sure that disrupted economies continue to function while the disease outbreak continues. In the face of real and
financial stress, there is a critical role for governments. While cutting interest rates is a possibleresponse for central banks, the shock is not onlydemandmanagement problem but a multi-faceted crisis that will require monetary, fiscal and healthpolicyresponsesQuarantining
affected people and reducing large scale social interaction is an effective response.

The longer-term responses are even more important. Despite the potential loss of life and the possible large-scale disruption to a large number of people, many governments have been reluctant to invest sufficiently in their health care systems, let alone public health systems in less developed countries where many infectious diseases are likely to originate.

Poverty kills poor people, but the outbreak of COVID-19 shows that if diseases are generated in poor countries due to overcrowding, poor public health and interaction with wild animals, these diseases can kill people of any socioeconomic group in any society. There needs to be
vastly more investment in public health and development in the richest but also, and especially,n the poorest countries. This study indicates the possible costs that can be avoided through
global cooperative investment in public health in all countries. We have known this critical policy intervention for decades, yet politicians continue to ignore the scientific evidence on the role of public health in improving the quality of life and as a driver of economic growth.