Economics

In addition to its health and social impacts, the COVID-19 pandemic and the responses from governments around the world have caused, and continue to cause, significant economic disruption, on both demand- and supply-sides of economies.

There are immediate and short-term economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, e.g. the effects of social distancing on people’s ability to work and shop, and some of these effects may have long-term consequences if businesses close and unemployment increases.

There are also likely to be a number of long-term economic effects of the pandemic, such as permanent behavioural changes e.g. greater focus on security and resilience of supply (which may lead to a shortening of supply chains and reductions in the level of international trade), and increases in remote working (which may lead to reductions in the demand for office spaces, local services, and the increasing virtualisation of work models).

Economic consulting has always been at the core of our service offer across the globe. As recognised leaders and innovators in economic consulting, we are combining knowledge within different jurisdictions with our technical, analytical and industry sector expertise to support the assessment of the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Building on our expertise, experience and forecasting tools, our economic offer is supporting our clients tackle the significant economic challenges they face and, at the same time, identify potential opportunities by:

• Undertaking rapid reviews to understand the potential economic impact of COVID-19 at an individual sector level;
• Identifying options for intervention to mitigate impacts at a national and sub-national level; and
• Understanding the strategic threats and opportunities for potential changes to global supply chains and their direct and indirect consequences (and opportunities) for regional and local economies.