Economic and Administrative Transformations as Repercussions of Coronavirus (COVID-19) Crisis

Abstract

The outbreak of Covid-19 - which was first discovered in China- affected people in 185 countries, where its spread left companies around the world calculating their costs day after day, this outbreak became a pandemic - where the WHO identified the outbreak of Covid-19 as a pandemic on March 11 - which resulted in more than 1.4 million confirmed cases and more than 83,000 deaths worldwide. It also raised fears of an economic crisis and an impending recession. Social divergence, self-isolation, and travel restrictions have forced the workforce to decline in all economic sectors and have caused many jobs to be lost. Schools closed, and the need for manufactured goods and products decreased. As a result of the pandemic, the global economy is projected to contract sharply by –3 percent in 2020, much worse than during the 2008–09 financial crisis. In contrast, the need for medical supplies increased significantly. The food sector also witnessed great demand due to the panic buying and storage of food products. After months of closures restricting work and movement, many countries have begun to lift the strict measures they have taken to slow the spread of Coronavirus, as European countries embarked on a gradual process of reopening their economies, following in the footsteps of China where the virus originated. But the economic fallout from the epidemic appears to be one of the biggest shocks in generations. Ordinary economic activity was disrupted on an unprecedented scale in peacetime as daily lifestyles were radically transformed. In this special issue, there are some authentic articles based on accurate and scientific analysis that explore the relationship between the emerging Covid-19 crisis and both economic and administrative transformations.