scholarly journals Evaluating the Effectiveness of Regional Lockdown Policies in the Containment of Covid-19: Evidence from Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamza Umer ◽  
Muhammad Salar Khan
Keyword(s):  
Negative Binomial ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Human Movement ◽  
Religious Congregations ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Jammu And Kashmir ◽  
The Government ◽  
Econometric Analyses ◽  
Gilgit Baltistan ◽  
The Impact

To slow down the spread of Covid-19, administrative regions within Pakistan imposed complete and partial lockdown restrictions on socio-economic activities, religious congregations, and human movement. Here we examine the impact of regional lockdown strategies on Covid-19 outcomes. After conducting econometric analyses (Regression Discontinuity and Negative Binomial Regressions) on official data from the National Institute of Health (NIH) Pakistan, we find that strategies did not lead to a similar level of Covid-19 caseload (positive cases and deaths) in all regions. In terms of reduction in the overall caseload (positive cases and deaths), compared to no lockdown, complete and partial lockdown were effective in four regions: Balochistan, Gilgit Baltistan (GB), Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Contrarily, complete and partial lockdowns were ineffective in containing the virus in the Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) regions. A divided response of the government, a significant proportion of daily wagers, poor habitat conditions, religious gatherings, and public attitude towards the virus jointly contributed to the ineffectiveness of lockdowns in the three largest regions. The observed regional heterogeneity in the effectiveness of lockdowns advocates for careful use of lockdown strategies based on the political, demographic, socio-economic, and religious factors.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Effectiveness of Regional Lockdown Policies in the Containment of Covid-19: Evidence from Pakistan

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hamza Umer ◽  
Muhammad Salar Khan
Keyword(s):  
Negative Binomial ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Human Movement ◽  
Religious Congregations ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Jammu And Kashmir ◽  
The Government ◽  
Econometric Analyses ◽  
Gilgit Baltistan ◽  
The Impact

To slow down the spread of Covid-19, administrative regions within Pakistan imposed complete and partial lockdown restrictions on socio-economic activities, religious congregations, and human movement. Here we examine the impact of regional lockdown strategies on Covid-19 outcomes. After conducting econometric analyses (Regression Discontinuity and Negative Binomial Regressions) on official data from the National Institute of Health (NIH) Pakistan, we find that strategies did not lead to a similar level of Covid-19 caseload (positive cases and deaths) in all regions. In terms of reduction in the overall caseload (positive cases and deaths), compared to no lockdown, complete and partial lockdown were effective in four regions: Balochistan, Gilgit Baltistan (GB), Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Contrarily, complete and partial lockdowns were ineffective in containing the virus in the Punjab, Sindh, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) regions. A divided response of the government, a significant proportion of daily wagers, poor habitat conditions, religious gatherings, and public attitude towards the virus jointly contributed to the ineffectiveness of lockdowns in the three largest regions. The observed regional heterogeneity in the effectiveness of lockdowns advocates for careful use of lockdown strategies based on the political, demographic, socio-economic, and religious factors.

“Air pollution arrested not imprisoned”: The impact of laws invoked on Covid-19 city lockdowns

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Mensah Aboagye ◽  
◽  
Nana Osei Owusu ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Environmental Problem ◽  
World Health Organisation ◽  
Developed Countries ◽  
World Health ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
Depth Study ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

Air pollution continues to be an environmental problem that poses a lot of health risks to the young and aged. Developed countries have invested heavily to curb this environmental problem, causing severe threats to human lives, yet the results do not look convincing. In developing countries, the situation is difficult than they can imagine, resulting in governments borrowing to fight what looks like a lost battle [1-3]. The in-depth study of this environmental menace - air pollution, suggests that the government enacts stringent measures to help fight this battle. This is because air pollution has natural (volcanic eruption) and anthropogenic (human activities) causes. In December 2019, the deadly Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak was soon declared as a global pandemic by the World Health Organisation (WHO) [4]. Majority of countries have had their share of the impact of this outbreak. Many countries resorted to city lockdown to strictly control the movement of people and economic activities as recommended by WHO.

scholarly journals Contingency Plan: Comparison of Health Policies in Managing COVID-19 in Singapore and Indonesia

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 28-34
Author(s):  
Khalish Arsy Al Khairy Siregar ◽  
Deasy Nur Chairin Hanifa
Keyword(s):  
Health Policy ◽  
Mortality Rate ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Disaster Mitigation ◽  
Health Policies ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
The Past ◽  
System 2 ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

 Introduction: Singapore is one of the countries with the lowest mortality rate and the best handling of COVID-19. Singapore can be an example for Indonesia on COVID 19 pandemic handling.Methods: The method used is a literature review from google platform with these keywords: “Singapore Health Policy in COVID-19, Indonesian Health Policy in COVID-19, Singapore's success in suppressing COVID-19”. The analysis was done by comparing the policies taken from the two countries in dealing with COVID-19.Results: Singapore and Indonesia did indeed have very big differences in terms of government and in broad areas, it cannot be denied that Indonesia can have the same opportunity as Singapore in providing a good health disaster mitigation system for the community. Three factors influence Singapore's success in dealing with COVID-19: 1) having a responsive and efficient health disaster mitigation system, 2) government legitimacy which is determined by the capacity of the state. Singapore has a semi-centralized government with high legitimacy the experience of dealing with pandemics in the past, 3) Singapore's experience with SARS in the past makes Singaporeans understand very well the impact of the pandemic on their economic activities and social life.Conclusion: Several things can be emulated from Singapore in handling COVID-19 was the transparency, strong communication between community and the government, prioritizing the benefit and safety of civil society and building obedience and awareness of Covid 19 prevention.

scholarly journals CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACT ON MOUNTAIN BIODIVERSITY: A SPECIAL REFERENCE TO GILGIT-BALTISTAN OF PAKISTAN

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 53
Author(s):  
S. Ishaq ◽  
M. Z. Khan ◽  
F. Begum ◽  
K. Hussain ◽  
R. Amir ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Special Reference ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Knowledge Gap ◽  
Change Models ◽  
Impact Of Climate Change ◽  
The Government ◽  
Gilgit Baltistan ◽  
The Impact

Climate Change is not a stationary phenomenon; it moves from time to time, it represents a major threat to mountainous biodiversity and to ecosystem integrity. The present study is an attempt to identify the current knowledge gap and the effects of climate change on mountainous biodiversity, a special reference to the Gilgit-Baltistan is briefly reviewed. Measuring the impact of climate change on mountain biodiversity is quite challenging, because climate change interacts with every phenomenon of ecosystem. The scale of this change is so large and very adverse so strongly connected to ecosystem services, and all communities who use natural resources. This study aims to provide the evidences on the basis of previous literature, in particular context to mountain biodiversity of Gilgit-Baltistan (GB). Mountains of Gilgit-Baltistan have most fragile ecosystem and are more vulnerable to climate change. These mountains host variety of wild fauna and flora, with many endangered species of the world. There are still many gaps in our knowledge of literature we studied because very little research has been conducted in Gilgit-Baltistan about climate change particular to biodiversity. Recommendations are made for increased research efforts in future this including jointly monitoring programs, climate change models and ecological research. Understanding the impact of climate change particular to biodiversity of GB is very important for sustainable management of these natural resources. The Government organizations, NGOs and the research agencies must fill the knowledge gap, so that it will help them for policy making, which will be based on scientific findings and research based.

Extending social protection to persons with disabilities: Exploring the accessibility and the impact of the Disability Fund on the lives of persons with disabilities in Ghana

2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (3) ◽  
pp. 225-245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxwell Peprah Opoku ◽  
William Nketsia ◽  
Elvis Agyei-Okyere ◽  
Wisdom Kwadwo Mprah
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Structured Interview ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Persons With Disabilities ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
The Government ◽  
Political Units ◽  
The Impact

In many low-income countries, persons with disabilities are consistently denied access to essential services, contributing to a high incidence of poverty among them. The Goal 1 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) exhorts countries to develop appropriate social protection to serve as a springboard to alleviate poverty among all persons. The government of Ghana has introduced Disability Fund to provide one-off financial support to persons with disabilities through its decentralised political units. This is to enable persons with disability to participate in socio-economic activities. However, after a decade of the establishment of the fund, anecdotal evidence still shows that many persons with disabilities continue to live in deplorable conditions. Therefore, the main aim of this qualitative study was to explore the beneficial impact of the fund on the lives of persons with disabilities in Ghana. A semi-structured interview guide was used to collect data from 48 participants, comprising 20 males and 28 females with disabilities. The narratives from the participants revealed that only a few were able to access the fund. In their quest to access the fund, participants encountered barriers, such as lack of information, delays in disbursement and insufficient funds. The findings underscore the need for re-evaluation of the administration of Disability Fund and its disbursement processes. The implications of the findings for policy reform are extensively discussed.

scholarly journals Review of Economic Stimulus Packages to Fight the Covid-19 Pandemic: Evidence from Malaysia

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 124-134
Author(s):  
Waqas Mehmood ◽  
Rasidah Mohd-Rashid ◽  
Attia Aman Ullah ◽  
Owais Shafique
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Economic Recession ◽  
Mass Scale ◽  
Tourism Industry ◽  
Economic Recovery ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Economic Stimulus ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Malaysian Government

The purpose of this study is to describe the COVID-19 situation in Malaysia and the way the government of Malaysia manages the impact of this pandemic through economic recovery packages such as economic stimulus packages. This study focuses on the effects of the economic stimulus packages released by the government of Malaysia as a response to the economic recession triggered by COVID-19. Malaysia is one of the favourite tourist destinations, and the tourism industry generates about 5.9% of the country’s GDP. However, the lockdown imposed by the Malaysian government to combat the COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected almost every sector of the economy. The Malaysian government has taken several steps to control the spread of the pandemic, such as declaring hotspots of COVID-19, imposing lockdowns, and creating mass scale awareness through social media and TV channels. The government has also deployed several economic strategies such as economic stimulus packages to help industries and the people. This study concludes that the mitigation techniques, i.e., economic stimulus packages adopted are working properly; however, some improvements are required as these techniques are inadequate to manage the transmission capability and virulence of COVID-19. Thus, more attention is required for the revival of economic activities. This study helps to obtain an insight into the effects of economic packages and how effective these packages have been in managing the spread of the COVID-19 virus and mitigating the economic recession. It also provides an understanding of how these packages will help flatten the pandemic curve in the future. This study provides information on the current COVID-19 situation in Malaysia. It also offers information on the policies and methods used by the government to solve economic and public health issues. Further, this study lays out guidelines for policymakers and government officials for the development of more effective strategies for economic recovery and public health initiatives.

scholarly journals Malaysia-Indonesia Cross-Border Governance: Is There a Trade-off between Security and Economic Development?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdul Rahim Anuar ◽  
Azhar Harun
Keyword(s):  
Security Policy ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Hot Spot ◽  
Northern Region ◽  
Security Threat ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Depth Interview ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

The National Security Council of Malaysia has declared the east coast of Sabah as the Eastern Sabah Security Zone (ESSZONE) to inhibit security threats and enhance security in the east coast of Sabah. This study employed an in-depth interview with the stakeholders involved in security governance and development in the study area. The selection of stakeholders was based on expert sampling. Secondary data relating to maritime economic activities were also used to reinforce the findings of the in-depth interview. The study areas were Tawau (Sabah) and Sebatik Island. Sebatik Island is divided into two regions; the northern region is owned by Malaysia and the south is owned by Indonesia. This paper examined the impact of ESSZONE’s security policy toward economic activities in Tawau and Sebatik Island. The security policy implemented by the Eastern Sabah Security Command (ESSCOM) in Sabah’s east coast has a negative impact on maritime economic activities in Tawau and Pulau Sebatik. Therefore, the government must re-evaluate the security measures in Tawau and Pulau Sebatik waters, and the curfew regulations in particular, because the security threat is lower and more manageable than in Sandakan, Tawau, Kunak, Lahad Datu, Semporna, and Kinabatangan, which form the hot spot area. Furthermore, the government should consider appropriate measures to balance the objectives of security and economic interests, depending on the level of security threat zones.  

scholarly journals A CONCEPTUAL STUDY ON INDIAN STOCK MARKET'S RESPONSE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC- A COMPARATIVE STUDY WITH OTHER CRISES

2021 ◽  
pp. 60-62
Author(s):  
Sahana. S ◽  
Sukanya. R
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Study ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Stock Market Volatility ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Country Life ◽  
Expert’S Opinion ◽  
The Government ◽  
Conceptual Study ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Unemployment Problem

The 2020 pandemic has shattered all most all the activities around the world, resulting to a great depression in the economy. Pandemic has poisoned all economic activities. The pandemic has affected public health in the country. If we make a keen look, every 10 years, there is some crash or scam happening in the country. However, after every crash if we make an analysis, there is a new revolution in the economy. The Harshad Mehta's scam which is one of the major scams in Indian share market history brought remarkable changes in banking sector, the Covid-19 crises has made India to depend immensely on technology which would otherwise not be possible in a country like India. With the spread of Covid virus across the country, the Government, after seeing the medical expert's opinion, announced nationwide lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus across the country. Life of millions of people was shattered as they could not earn their livelihood. Many youth lost their jobs, there was unemployment problem gearing up across the country. Due to the lockdown, the financial markets also reacted to the pandemic and there was lot of volatility in the share market. The present paper aims to examine the impact of Covid-19 on stock market volatility in India. The paper also considers some of the crashes that have happened in the past and to make a comparative study of various crashes with that of the Covid19 crash.

Does Infrastructure Matters in Government Spending? A Case Study of Jammu and Kashmir (India) with Cointegration Approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 82-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Samir Ul Hassan ◽  
Biswambhara Mishra
Keyword(s):  
Government Spending ◽  
Time Series Data ◽  
Government Expenditure ◽  
Jel Classification ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Jammu And Kashmir ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Impact

This study is an attempt to investigate the impact of infrastructure level on government spending in short and long run and also to find the tendency of infrastructure level to stabilise any disequilibrium in government spending in long run. Infrastructure is related to the quality and quantity of goods and services provided by government to the population, to fulfil their diverse demands. The state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) is not an exception; the increasing trend in different aspects of population and rising needs and aspirations of the growing population forces the government to increase expenditure on that count, which results in increase in aggregate government spending. Using multivariate cointegration technique followed by vector error correction model (VECM) model on annual time-series data for the period from 1984 to 2013 with broader data set of infrastructure dimension, the study found that the infrastructure variables cause major variation in government expenditure in short as well as in long run. Study shows that infrastructure related to health, education, roads and portable water produce positive and significant impact on the growth of government spending and infrastructure related to these dimensions has significant tendency to stabilise any disequilibrium in government spending in long run. JEL Classification: H3, H5, H53, I

scholarly journals Econometric Analyses of Adoption and Household-Level Impacts of Improved Rice Varieties in the Uplands of Yunnan, China

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (17) ◽  
pp. 6873 ◽  
Author(s):  
Huaiyu Wang ◽  
Sushil Pandey ◽  
Lu Feng
Keyword(s):  
Household Income ◽  
Upland Rice ◽  
Government Programs ◽  
Rice Varieties ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Improved Varieties ◽  
Household Level ◽  
The Government ◽  
Econometric Analyses ◽  
The Impact

Higher-yielding rice varieties adapted to the upland conditions of Yunnan were developed and disseminated during the late 1990s. Using cross-sectional farm-level data of 448 households collected from five prefectures in Southern Yunnan, this paper carries out an econometric analysis of the determinants of variations in the adoption of improved varieties among households and assesses the impact of adoption on rice income and total household income. The two major determinants of adoption were found to be the government programs for extension of improved upland rice varieties and for terracing of sloping fields. The presence of government programs for extension and for terracing contributed to increased adoption of improved varieties. Household-specific factors such as land and labor endowments were less important as these variables had a statistically insignificant impact on adoption. The adoption of improved rice varieties increased both rice income and the average household income. About half of the household income difference observed between the full adopters and non-adopters of improved rice varieties with comparable household characteristics can be attributed directly to the adoption. The results imply that increased investments in promoting improved rice varieties and terracing will generate additional income growth in the uplands of Yunnan.

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