In the wake of COVID-19, our new white paper A neglected burden: the ongoing economic costs of COVID-19 in Australia, Taiwan, Korea, Singapore, and Hong Kong analyzes the economic costs of the disease with the aim of informing policy discussions on how to address its continuing financial toll. The paper takes a high-level, evidence-based approach to assess COVID-19’s potential consequences in the five markets.

In terms of methodology, this white paper uses the cost-of-illness concept to derive cost estimates. This is a similar approach used in the One Billion Days Lost analysis recently published by McKinsey & Company, which details the ongoing economic cost of COVID-19 in the US. Our white paper finds that the annual economic cost of COVID-19 in Asia Pacific markets ranges from US$2.6 billion (0.6% of GDP) in Singapore, to US$17.0 billion in Australia (1% of GDP) and US$27.5 billion (1.6% of GDP) in Korea.

The primary variables between individual markets are the number of infections, GDP and average wages, quarantines causing periods of missed work, and healthcare delivery costs. To ensure economic resilience, our report recommends a range of countermeasures that help to alleviate the burden, such as community measures and the use of vaccines and therapeutics.

Please click below to download the white paper and related infographics.

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