Global supply-chain effects of COVID-19 control measures

Dabo Guan*, Daoping Wang, Stephane Hallegatte, Steven J. Davis, Jingwen Huo, Shuping Li, Yangchun Bai, Tianyang Lei, Qianyu Xue, D’Maris M. Coffman, Danyang Cheng, Peipei Chen, Xi Liang, Bing Xu, Xiaosheng Lu, Shouyang Wang, Klaus Hubacek, Peng Gong

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    601 Citations (Scopus)
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    Abstract

    Countries have sought to stop the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by severely restricting travel and in-person commercial activities. Here, we analyse the supply-chain effects of a set of idealized lockdown scenarios, using the latest global trade modelling framework. We find that supply-chain losses that are related to initial COVID-19 lockdowns are largely dependent on the number of countries imposing restrictions and that losses are more sensitive to the duration of a lockdown than its strictness. However, a longer containment that can eradicate the disease imposes a smaller loss than shorter ones. Earlier, stricter and shorter lockdowns can minimize overall losses. A ‘go-slow’ approach to lifting restrictions may reduce overall damages if it avoids the need for further lockdowns. Regardless of the strategy, the complexity of global supply chains will magnify losses beyond the direct effects of COVID-19. Thus, pandemic control is a public good that requires collective efforts and support to lower-capacity countries.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)577–587
    Number of pages11
    JournalNature Human Behaviour
    Volume4
    Issue number6
    Early online date3-Jun-2020
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2020

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