The Rise of Covidnomics
by KAUSHIK BASU* The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing medical professionals and economists alike to grapple with issues that cross the normal boundaries of their respective disciplines. Recognizing this creates scope for policy interventions that can contain the pandemic without crushing the economy. Boundaries between academic disciplines are always artificial creations intended to facilitate analysis, given our limitations. But as the economist Albert Hirschman once argued, there are times when it [...]
How will Covid-19 affect global trade ?
In April, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) published its latest trade forecast predicting global trade in goods would fall by between 13% and 32% in 2020 due to the economic impact of Covid-19. The forecasts are illustrated in the graph below, showing both pessimistic and optimistic scenarios. World merchandise trade volume, 2000‑2022 (100 = trade volumes in 2015) A number of factors could affect the recovery of global trade volumes. Confidence A [...]
Which towns and cities will be post-pandemic winners?
*by Simon Kuper Richard Florida and his wife and children spent most of lockdown in their apartment on Miami Beach. When they returned home to Toronto, the city had changed. “When we left, you couldn’t get stuff readily delivered here,” he reports over Zoom. “I literally pressed the Instacart button five minutes before I connected to you . . . and [my order] will be here in half an hour.” Florida is the urban [...]
The illegal exchange of music files and the “birth” of Skype
Article by Christos Kotsakas* May 10th, marks 9 years since Skype, the popular VoIP app with millions of users around the world, passed into the hands of Microsoft. However, the history of this service goes through pubs, legal entanglements and a music file sharing application: Kazaa. In the early 2000s, Napster was at the heart of the tech world. It is a peer-to-peer application through which users can download, completely [...]
Contracts at the time of Covid-19 – force majeure and bona fide
Article by Urania V.Zervobeakou* The rapid spread of the corona SARS-CoV worldwide and the resulting pandemic have significant side effects on social and economic life and the business environment in general. It is therefore certain that in the near future, beyond and regardless of the support measures taken by the State, which notably has no inexhaustible resources and especially after 10 years of crisis and 3 memoranda, will lead many [...]
The fraud risk in SMEs and the role of Corporate Governance
Article by Irene I. Papadopoulou* Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the main body of the Greek economy and an integral part of its production mechanism. The Greek economy has pinned its hopes on growth and gradual release from the long-term economic crisis on innovation, new technologies in e-commerce and talented human resources, sectors in which SMEs are investing, as confirmed by relevant research. In their efforts to raise their [...]