Attenuating pandemic supply shocks with 3D printed emergency use equipment

The fast-moving COVID-19 pandemic stressed supply chains even for some of the best prepared medical facilities. As a result, producing on-demand personal protective equipment (PPE) using additive manufacturing (AM) capabilities (3D-printing) emerged as a common strategy. While layer-by-layer processing confers several advantages to AM, it also imposes prohibitive print times, particularly for large volume parts. This leads to potential for using AM to rapidly produce smaller adaptors that modify available components for addressing critical shortages in emergencies. We applied this principle in developing a quick, simple, and low-cost adaptation of elastomeric half-mask respirators for emergency use in high-risk clinical settings. As we move toward reopening society, we must proactively build stronger bridges between engineering and medicine to respond to critical shortages in PPE ensuing from a potential second wave.

COVID-19 in Pakistan: How to Spark the Economic Recovery-Analysis from Previous Natural Disasters

COVID-19 is reshaping the future of the globe by having an unprecedented impact on people's social, political, and economic lives. This pandemic is being characterized by health crisis as well as economic crisis. Pertaining to the negative demand & supply shocks and the decrease in revenues, profits, and investment due to COVID-19, many business and economic institutions are paying heed to subdue the post-pandemic economic recession. The COVID-19 pandemic crisis also hit the economy of Pakistan rigorously. Due to persistent lockdown and de-escalated economic activities, the country faced a sharp decline in tax revenues, investment, and business growth. Pakistan has faced several economic downturns due to natural disasters: particularly the flood in 2010 and the earthquake in 2005, as they caused the loss of numerous lives, infrastructure, businesses, and irrigation land. The present study reviews the response and effectiveness of government and different institutions in previous natural disasters. This analysis provides policy recommendations to deal with the current crisis. The study concludes that Pakistan failed to get the full output of its recovery plans due to lack of preparedness & coordination, lack of understanding, insufficient knowledge & planning, the ineffective role of central management, and other institutional or management issues. It further recommends that Pakistan should act more effectively against natural disasters and restore its previous economic pace by eliminating the gaps in its economic and disaster management policies.

Monetary Policy Report - October 2021

Macroeconomic summary Economic activity has recovered faster than projected, and output is now expected to return to pre-pandemic levels earlier than anticipated. Economic growth projections for 2021 and 2022 have been revised upward, though significant downward bias remains. (Graph 1.1). Colombia’s economy returned to recovery in the third quarter after significant supply shocks and a third wave of COVID-19 in the second. Negative shocks affecting mobility and output were absent in the third quarter, and some indicators of economic activity suggest that the rate of recovery in demand, primarily in consumption, outpaced estimates from the July Monetary Policy Report (MPR) in the context of widely expansive monetary policy. Several factors are expected to continue to contribute to output recovery for the rest of the year and into 2022, including the persistence of favorable international financial conditions, an expected improvement in external demand, and an increase in terms of trade. Increasing vaccination rates, the expectation of higher levels of employment and the consequent effect on household income, improved investment performance (which has not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels), and the expected stimulus from monetary policy that would continue to be expansive should also drive economic activity. As a result, output is estimated to have returned to its pre-pandemic level in the third quarter (previously expected in the fourth quarter). Growth is expected to decelerate in 2022, with excess productive capacity projected to close faster than anticipated in the previous report. Given the above, GDP growth projections have been revised upward for 2021 (9.8%, range between 8.4% and 11.2%) and 2022 (4.7%, range between 0.7% and 6.5%). If these estimates are confirmed, output would have grown by 2.3% on average between 2020 and 2022. This figure would be below long-term sustainable growth levels projected prior to the pandemic. The revised growth forecast for 2022 continues to account for a low basis of comparison from this year (reflecting the negative effects of COVID-19 and roadblocks in some parts of the country), and now supposes that estimated consumption levels for the end of 2021 will remain relatively stable in 2022. Investment and net exports are expected to recover at a faster pace than estimated in the previous report. Nevertheless, the downward risks to these estimates remain unusually significant, for several reasons. First, they do not suppose significant negative effects on the economy from possible new waves of COVID-19. Second, because private consumption, which has already surpassed pre-pandemic levels by a large margin, could perform less favorably than estimated in this forecast should it reflect a temporary phenomenon related to suppressed demand as service sectors re-open (e.g. tourism) and private savings accumulated during the pandemic are spent. Third, disruptions to supply chains could be more persistent than contemplated in this report and could continue to affect production costs, with a negative impact on the economy. Finally, the accumulation of macroeconomic imbalances could translate to increased vulnerability to changes in international financial conditions or in international and domestic economic agents’ perception of risk in the Colombian economy, representing a downward risk to growth. A higher-than-expected increase in inflation, the persistence of supply shocks, and reduced excess productive capacity have led to an increase in inflation projections above the target on the forecast horizon (Graph 1.2). Inflation increased above expectations to 4.51% in the third quarter, due in large part to the price behavior of foods and regulated items, and to a lesser extent to core inflation. Increased international prices and costs continue to generate upward pressure on various sub-baskets of the consumer price index (CPI), as has the partial reversion of some price relief measures implemented in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID 19 The pandemic and Price Volatility: An Analysis of Hospitality Industry in Emerging Market Economy - Case Study of Tanzania

Hotel industries have had the most impact in most of the countries as people went into lockdowns and quarantines as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aimed at assessing the degree of price change in relation to the profit of hotels before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Tanzania has been considered to represent developing countries that have taken a different course in a fight against the pandemic. Price movement determines the reaction from customers and therefore performance. This study prepared to identify the knowledge gap on how supply shocks affecting prices of hotels caused by COVID-19 pandemic that are beyond control, especially on a developing country like Tanzania could have on the performance of hotels and whether the recovery of such recession can be predicted in the short run. Movement in supply, demand and management strategies were regarded as an indicator of the direction of the performance of hotels in Tanzania pre and during the COVID-19 pandemic period. The study adopted both qualitative and quantitative analysis for a period of two years, 2019 to 2021, for a sample of two hotels in Dar es salaam which are 5- star hotels. Focus group discussion was used as a way to collect data along with secondary data. The regression analysis has been adopted to analyse secondary data after considering the correlation between variables in the study. Performance of hotels was measured using daily demand generated in pre and during the pandemic period against changes in prices influenced by COVID-19 pandemic. The study found out that the influence of price movement during the pandemic period was not significant enough to have led to the deteriorating performance of hotels in Tanzania. However, hotel performance deteriorated as a result of other contributing factors such as a fall in occupancy rate, lack of markets and increasing additional costs to fight against the pandemic, supply shocks which led to a fall in efficiency. It was evidenced that this was highly triggered by the overdependence of hotels on foreign markets. Travelling restrictions and lockdowns cultivated the deteriorating performance in hotels even though Tanzania never went into lockdown. However, hotel management adopted measures to contain the impacts through various ways, such as cutting down costs and revising prices. The study concluded and recommended that Tanzania hotels management should adopt flexible strategies on pricing that would accommodate unprecedented events that are beyond the control of the market forces (demand and supply). This would enable management to have decisions that reflect the condition in the country and not get influence from companies within the group situated in other countries.

Empirical evidence against U.S. H1-B visa restrictions, the case of employment in the manufacturing industry

This empirical research paper provides ample evidence for policy makers to readdress the immigration policy--especially H1-B visa cap restrictions. The paper is focused on employment shifts and human capital achievement for two groups: the U.S. born and foreign-born working within the United States manufacturing industry. The manufacturing industry is the largest industry employer in the country, and it is in the brink of being at a disadvantage in the global stage due to labor shortage as the workforce ages. The paper uses data for three-year periods--2000, 2010, and 2019--from U.S. Census, The American Community Survey (ACS), Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) files, thus providing an overview in labor trends and the human capital needed for the industry to be competitive. The paper builds from the Mincer (1974) earnings function to determine hourly wages for the two groups and then uses the Oaxaca-Blinder (1973) method to measure potential bias between the U.S. born and foreign-born employees in the manufacturing industry. The results in this paper align with other recent research findings (Gest et al., 2021; Eckstein & Peri, 2018) that show immigration as a tool to economic competitiveness. The data trends and findings in this paper synchronize with Borjas and Edo (2021) insights indicating that the native-born may respond to supply shocks of immigration by moving to other labor markets that are not directly affected by immigration.

Energy costs will squeeze Greek firms’ profitability

Significance During the coming winter months October-March, rising electricity and heating prices will reduce household disposable income, dampening domestic demand. The low profitability of Greek corporates makes them particularly vulnerable to an additional squeeze on profit margins due to rising energy costs. Impacts The European energy crisis could dampen popular support for greater use of renewable energy sources. Privatisation of DEPA Commercial might be put on hold to offer the government more control over price setting. New investments in gas storage facilities could hedge against future supply shocks. The rising prices of fertilisers will push up costs in agriculture and could undermine future output if less fertiliser is used.