Pandemic-Led Disruptions in Asia: Tracing the Early Economic Impacts on Sri Lanka and Thailand

Abstract

This study focuses on tracing the early economic impacts of COVID-19. The pandemic has unleashed a global shock impacting all economies in several ways. The lockdowns have brought economic activity to a standstill, with the closure of businesses and halting of travel, trade and commerce. Even as the impact on sensitive sectors as trade, tourism and remittances are already becoming visible, it is imperative to understand how these are impacting economies in Asia. This article studies these impacts on Thailand and Sri Lanka, both of which being wired to the globalised world, are witnessing adverse impacts on earnings through exports and tourism as well as a huge decline in inward remittances. Even as countries beef up their health infrastructure, they also seek to restart international travel and trade. Hence, the role of the state is critical to pull the economies out of the de-globalisation trends that are expected to gain pace in and beyond 2020.

Lessons learned from the COVID-19 response in Sri Lankan hospitals: an interview of frontline healthcare professionals

“…As a middle-income country, Sri Lanka has many socioeconomic problems. In addition, the country’s main income sources were also severely affected by the global pandemic ( 44 ). Therefore, the country had to mount its response to the pandemic with limited financial resources.…”

Bangladesh's ready-made garments sector rebound: Revisiting gendered labor precarity and dependency

“…This trend is particularly significant for developing countries like Bangladesh, which are heavily dependent on the RMG sector. (Marwah and Ramanayake, 2021). In addition, the effect of the pandemic and the retailers’ estrangement of the workers illustrates a classic case of governance failure.…”

Economic Contagion and the Repercussion on Remittances: Evidence from Low and Middle-Income Economies

“…It was projected to have received $35.1 billion in 2019 (Ratha et al, 2019). Most remittances to the Philippines flow from East Asian nations (Hossain, 2021;Marwah & Ramanayake, 2021;Yadav & Iqbal, 2021), and the Pacific, which helps to build their economy and helping to attain the 2030 SDGs (Concepcion & Latoja, 2020). The annual remittances of the Philippines declined by 8% between 2019 and 2020, aside from the predictions made by many institutions (Takenaka et al, 2020).…”

“…The worsening of economic situations through lockdowns and the social and financial expenditure of returning and moving back to their destinations may compel several migrant workers to stay put in their current destinations (OECD, 2020b). These conditions made migrant workers apply several strategies to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic economic impact, including lowering spending, searching for alternative jobs, moving to less expensive accommodations, limiting savings, and selling belongings (Hossain, 2021; Marwah & Ramanayake, 2021; Meegaswatta, 2021; Siddiqi, 2021; Yadav & Iqbal, 2021). The reverse impact on the migrants’ families is the sharp decline in remittances transfer (Tang & Li, 2021).…”