A Conceptual Framework for Analyzing the Economic Impact of COVID-19 and its Policy Implication

A Conceptual Framework for Analyzing the Economic Impact of COVID-19 and its Policy Implication

March 29, 2020

This note offers a conceptual framework for analyzing the economic impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and considers some policy implications. It is a general note, limited in scope, covering fundamentals that are likely to affect a typical developing economy. 

The coronavirus disease 2019 is produced by a new virus for which currently there is no pharmaceutical treatment. The dynamics of the disease are such that, in the absence of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), it overwhelms the capacity of national health care systems. Hence, governments chose to enact NPIs to contain the spread of the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.