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  • July 2020
  • Teaching Note
  • HBS Case Collection

COVID-19: The Global Shutdown

By: Laura Alfaro and Sarah Jeong
  • Format:Print
  • | Language:English
  • | Pages:14
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Abstract

In the first months of 2020, a pandemic overwhelmed the world. COVID-19, commonly known as the coronavirus, spread from China and created a severe public health emergency across countries. While an immediate fear of the disease’s impact on human life permeaacted society, the world battled another concern for the severe economic downturn that was brought about by attempts to suppress the virus. World trade, tourism, capital flows, remittances, and commodity prices collapsed. Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, the global GDP growth rate for 2020 was expected to be close to 2.3%. As of July 2020, multilateral organizations estimated that GDP would contract by 4.9%—way worse than the 0.1% contraction of 2009, and the deepest dive since the Great Depression. What policy options existed to mitigate the financial and economic distress of containment, and what factors did different countries weigh in deciding which paths to choose? Was there a terrible choice—either damage livelihoods through extended lockdowns, or sacrifice thousands or even millions of lives to the virus—or were policies reinforcing? What was the role of government, businesses, communities and individuals? After the worst of the health crisis was mitigated, what kind of shape would world economies take?

Keywords

COVID-19; Health Pandemics; Trade; Microeconomics; Macroeconomics; Financial Crisis; Economy; Policy; Governance; Economic Systems; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Economic Sectors

Citation

Alfaro, Laura, and Sarah Jeong. "COVID-19: The Global Shutdown." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 321-021, July 2020.
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About The Author

Laura Alfaro

General Management
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  • Doing Business in Boston, Massachusetts By: Laura Alfaro, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Zeke Gillman
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  • FIELD Immersion 2022: Lawrence, Massachusetts By: Laura Alfaro and Tom Quinn
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