As the world emerges from the pandemic questions arise about how the global economy will be augmented or reshaped by the events of 2020. After the 2008 crash, Brexit and the US-China trade war, the incoming Chief Economist of the World Bank, Carmen Reinhart, describes the pandemic as the ‘last nail in the coffin of globalisation’. So as much..
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May 2020
Since April we have seen politicians around the world trying to roll back on the panic created by the Corona Virus. The machinery of government and its institutions, particularly areas involved in health, led by the World Health Organisation, embraced the idea of pandemic and effectively shut down the world’s economy.
Covid 19, Alcohol Use and Mental Health
Pre-pandemic research found heightened risk from working under certain conditions such as in isolation away from friends and family; extended or shift-pattern working hours, in dangerous environments, under inadequate supervision or at risk from organisational change (restructure/redundancy)- a list that makes clear what may be driving this Covid related increase in consumption.
Covid 19: Effect on Job Vacancies by Sector
Those in lower-earning jobs offering £15-£25 thousand per annum (less than London Living Wage) are worst affected. Higher paid jobs’ greater likeliness to be conducted from home is partly reflected in the far lower reduction in available positions.
COVID 19: Jobs vs Exposure
Looking at pay, over a third of the highest-risk jobs have a below median hourly pay rate (currently £13.21 in the UK). Care escorts, dental nurses, and nursing auxiliaries and assistants are among the lowest paid and all range between £9.45 and £10.93.
COVID 19: Permanent Changes to Consumer Habits?
Our work, leisure and shopping habits as well as interpersonal relationships have all been subject to seismic shifts in a matter of months. Indeed, what consumers value has changed, so as we enter the inevitably severe economic downturn, retail businesses will have to navigate this transformed