PANDEMICS, LOCKDOWN AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: A REGION-SPECIFIC PERSPECTIVE ON COVID-19

Abstract

This study examines the impacts of COVID-19 induced factors and country specific health-care infrastructure and co-morbid factors on economic growth between January 1, 2021, to May 31, 2021 for 19 South and South-east Asian (SSEA) economies. Our findings indicate that COVID-19 related mortality negates growth, while vaccination and testing have no significant impact on growth during this period. We further quantify the effects by instrumenting government policy measures and vaccination drives in terms of testing, tracking and mortality. Our findings show a negative effect of lockdowns on growth, while vaccination has a positive impact on growth and controls fatality rate considerably.