Pandemics and Economics

Abstract

Most universities in the US have shut down their physical offerings over the past few weeks and educators everywhere are scrambling to get their courses online. This is quite an onerous transition for everyone involved in the process because the overnight change has caught teachers, students and administrators off-guard. Nevertheless, with high-speed internet commonplace in the US, the move will be made, albeit with many hiccups. Not all commodities in the economy are as “online moveable” as education. Movie halls, sports arenas, theme parks, stores, and a host of other venues need physical footfalls to generate revenue. As communities and cities across the world self-quarantine to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the big worry confronting economists is the wide-ranging effects on the economy of such an unprecedented turn.