The Economic and Social Impacts of Coronavirus (Covid-19)

COVID-19 is a medical emergency but also an economic contagion which has triggered a cycle of economic and social impacts. Researchers at WMREDI, University of Birmingham have used their expertise to analyse economic exposure to Coronavirus in the West Midlands and the UK, bringing together data and intelligence which can be shared and utilised in planning and responding to the challenge of the virus.

West Midlands Economic Impact Monitor: Issue 112

Birmingham city centre at night

WMREDI has been tasked with providing an up to date monitor of the current COVID-19 economic impacts to help regional partners to shape responses and interventions to ensure the region continues to thrive.

Contagion: The Economic and Social Impacts of Coronavirus on the West Midlands

Medical scientist studying samples

Professor Simon Collinson highlights four keys ways in which the West Midlands will be economically exposed by COVID-19 and looks at how we might mitigate some of the economic and social risks.

Media

What are the economic impacts of COVID-19 on the West Midlands?

Weekly updates

Monitoring the economic impact of Covid-19: Episode 16
Monitoring the economic impact of Covid-19: Episode 15
Monitoring the economic impact of Covid-19: Episode 14

More Weekly Update Videos

Monitoring the economic impact of Covid-19: Episode 13
Monitoring the economic impact of Covid-19: Episode 12
Monitoring the economic impact of Covid-19: Episode 11
Monitoring the economic impact of Covid-19: Episode 10
Monitoring the economic impact of Covid-19: Episode 9
Monitoring the economic impact of Covid-19: Episode 8
Monitoring the economic impact of Covid-19: Episode 7
Monitoring the economic impact of Covid-19: Episode 6
Monitoring the economic impact of Covid-19: Episode 5
Monitoring the economic impact of Covid-19: Episode 4
Monitoring the economic impact of Covid-19: Episode 3
Monitoring the economic impact of Covid-19: Episode 2
Monitoring the economic impact of Covid-19: Episode 1

Commentary

West Midlands Weekly Economic Impact Monitor - all issues
WMREDI 

Air Transport and Connectivity – Covid Permitting
Paul Kehoe, 5 May 2022

Entrepreneurial Behaviour and the COVID-19 Pandemic – A Collapse in Confidence or a Positive Response to Uncertainty?
Mark Hart, 7 April 2022

Rethinking Public Procurement for Post-COVID Recovery
Malcolm Harbour CBE, 16 February 2022

Brexit and Covid 19
Will Rossiter, 9 February 2022

The Effect of Furlough and Mortgage Holidays on Household Finances in the West Midlands During the Covid-19 Crisis
Dr Christoph Görtz and Professor Danny McGowen, 26 January 2022

Small Business Leaders Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic – Foundations for Recovery?
Mark Hart, 13 January 2022

Levelling Up Through Innovation
Simon Collinson, 9 December 2021

Labour Market Disconnect in the West Midlands
Juliane Schwarz, 1 December 2021

The Impact of Brexit and COVID–19 on International Trade In Our Region
Mandy Haque, 30 November 2021

Regional Growth Opportunities: Building Productivity and Resilience Through Supply Chains
Dr Wanrong Zhang and Prof Jan Godsell, 25 November 2021

Economic Recovery and Resilience in Birmingham
Raj Kandola, 18 November 2021

Future Trends Post-COVID and Their Impact on Birmingham
Rebecca Riley, 16 November 2021

COVID-19 Recovery: Birmingham Cannot Miss the Opportunity for a Restart
Tasos Kitsos and Raquel Ortega-Argiles, 12 Novemeber 2021

Tackling Covid-19 in Birmingham
Dr Justin Varney, 11 November 2021

Combining Growth and Levelling Up in UK Regions: How Universities and the Social Sciences Can Help
Simon Collinson, 10 November 2021

Build Back Better? The Real Challenges of Levelling Up Post-Pandemic
Simon Collinson, 5 November 2021

The Great Resignation, The Great Reset, The Great Reshuffle and The Great Retention
Rebecca Riley, 3 November 2021

Covid-19 Recovery Planning, Partnership Working and the Role of Universities in City-Regions
Abigail Taylor, 26 October 2021

Covid-19 and the Future Business District
Anne Green, Rebecca Riley, Alex Smith, Ben Brittain and Hannes Read, 20 October 2021

The Regional Economic Contribution of Student Expenditure: Implications for Managing the COVID-19 Pandemic
Tasos Kitsos, 7 October 2021

State of the Region 2021 – Informing Regional Decision Making in the West Midlands
Chloe Billing, 19 August 2021

State of the Region 2021 – The Key Challenges Facing the West Midlands
Chloe Billing, 12 August 2021

Why Offices Must Adapt to Encourage People to Return
Hannes Read, 10 August 2021

Good Jobs in the Midlands After COVID
Tony Dobbins and Anne Green, 29 July 2021

Looking Ahead: The Future Business District Study and the Future of the Office
Hannes Read, 21 July 2021

Student Knowledge Exchange – Optimising Virtual Delivery to Remove Barriers and Engage Communities 
Terry Dray, Sue Welland, and Hannes Read, 8 July 2021

More Commentary 

Four propositions for the Much-Anticipated Levelling Up White Paper
Associate Professor Will Rossitor, Professor Anne Green and Rebecca Riley, 2 July 2021

The Future of UK Employment in a Post-Pandemic World
Dr Abigail Taylor and Ben Harrison, 19 May 2021

Covid-19 and Business: Has Government Support Worked?
Alice Pugh, 14 April 2021

COVID-19 Business Support Grants in England: Analysing and Evaluating Successes of Government Policy
Hannes Read, 24 March 2021

Accelerator Programmes and the COVID-19 Pandemic
Dr Juliane Schwarz, 16 March 2021

Re-thinking How We ‘Brand’ Our Cities After Covid-19
Dr Laura Reynolds, Cardiff Business School, 10 March 2021

Inequalities and the COVID-19 Crisis
Professor Anne Green, 29 January 2021

Birmingham on the World Stage: The Attractiveness of the City Before and After the Pandemic
Rebecca Riley, 26 January 2021

Regional Resilience: The Co-dependence of Business and Regions in Recovery
Professor Simon Collison, 13 January 2021

The Impact of Covid-19 on Jobs and Skills in Birmingham
Dr Abigail Taylor, 7 January 2021

Changes to the UK Immigration System After the Brexit Transition Period
Professor Anne Green, 17 December 2020

COVID-19 and the Impact on International Mobility and Migration
Professor Anne Green, 16 December 2020

The Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on Childcare and Implications for Participation in the Labour Market
Dr Sara Hassan, 8 December 2020

Vaccine Optimism and Global Economic Recovery
Dr Deniz Sevinc, 1 December 2020

Labour Market Challenges: The Impact of COVID-19 on Ethnic Minority Groups in Birmingham
Professor Anne Green, 26 November 2020

The Disproportionate Impact of COVID-19 on Ethnic Minorities in the West Midlands
Dr Deniz Sevinc, 25 November 2020

Regional Economic Exposure of COVID-19 Measures: Shutting Down Hospitality and Recreational Activities
Dr Andre Carrascal Incera, 11 November 2020

International Trade Is the Key to Economic Recovery in the West Midlands
Matthew Lowe, Black Country Chamber of Commerce, 10 November 2020

Birmingham Economic Outlook: Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic
Ben Brittain, 5 November 2020

The Pandemic Hangover
Rebecca Riley, 4 November 2020

An Urban Transport Recovery Plan for the West Midlands
Dr Mageda Cepeda Zorrilla, 22 October 2020

Lifelong Learning: A Current and Future Imperative 
Dr Abigail Taylor, 13 October 2020

Civic Universities and Inclusive Local Economic Recovery: How Can Universities Do Even More to Support Regions in Crisis?
Dr Abigail Taylor and Professor Simon Collinson, 12 October 2020

Tackling Worklessness: A Focus on Young People
Professor Anne Green, 8 October 2020

The Impact of COVID-19 on Homelessness
Maryna Ramcharan, WMCA, 7 October 2020

A Safe Return to the Classroom and Work in the West Midlands During the COVID-19 Pandemic
Dr Magda Cepeda Zorrilla, 6 October 2020

Homeworking and the Return to the Office – Part Two
Professor Anne Green and Rebecca Riley, 1 October 2020

Homeworking and the Return to the Office – Part One
Professor Anne Green and Rebecca Riley, 30 September 2020

Civic Engagement, Universities and Inclusive Growth: Responding to COVID-19
Professor John Goddard, Des McNulty, Professor Anne Green, Professor Simon Collinson, 24 September 2020

Has COVID-19 Changed the Terrain of Engagement?
Liam O'Farrell, 23 September 2020

Economic Aspects of the COVID-19 Crisis in the UK: DELVE Report No. 5
Dr Chloe Billing, 22 September 2020

The REDI Interview: The Role of Housebuilding in the UK’s Recovery From COVID-19
The Rt Hon Chris Pincher MP, 17 September 2020

Good Work and the COVID-19 Crisis
Professor Anne Green, 16 September 2020

The Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on Older Workers
Professor Anne Green, 9 September 2020

Policy Briefing – Economic Recovery Post COVID-19: The MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme (REAP)
Dr Chloe Billing, 8 September 2020

Regions in a Time of Pandemic
Professor Raquel Ortega-Argiles, 3 September 2020

The Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on Women
Professor Anne Green, 27 August 2020

Regional Assets and COVID-19 Impacts
Dr Abigail Taylor and Rebecca Riley, 26 August 2020

Informing Regional Recovery With Community Priorities: WM Citizens’ Panel
Anna Humphreys and Adam Hawksbee, West Midlands Combined Authority, 19 August 2020

Geographical and Social Mobility
Professor Anne Green, 6 August 2020

Measuring the Distance to the Sustainable Development Goals in the UK Regions: How Is the West Midlands Performing? 
Professor Raquel Ortega-Argiles, 5 August 2020

COVID-19 and Job Matching
Professor Anne Green, 29 July 2020

Conducting Qualitative Research During Times of Uncertainty
Dr Amir Qamar, 22 July 2020

Economic Recovery Post COVID-19: The MIT Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme (REAP)
Dr Chloe Billing, 15 July 2020

Research and Development (R&D) Roadmap
Dr Chloe Billing, 8 July 2020

To V or Not to V? Are We Heading for a V-Shaped Recovery?
Ben Brittain , 6 July 2020

Brexit and UK Manufacturing
Professor David Bailey and Ivan Rajic, Birmingham Business School , 1 July 2020

How Can We Mitigate the Impact of the COVID-19 Unemployment Crisis Through Lifelong Learning?
Dr Abigail Taylor, 30 June 2020

A Review of the Impacts of the 1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic
Rebecca Riley, 25 June 2020

How Is Brexit Going to Be Affected by the COVID-19 Outbreak?
Professor Raquel Ortega-Argiles, 23 June 2020

Universities and the Recovery of Local Communities From the COVID-19 Crisis: A Role for the Social Sciences
Professor John Goddard and Des McNulty, 22 June 2020

COVID-19 and the Impact on Crime in the West Midlands
Dr Sara Hassan and Emerzon Somera (WMCA), 17 June 2020

The Need for Greater Devolution in England to Respond to COVID-19
Dr Charlotte Hoole, 16 June 2020

Rental Market Liquidity in Birmingham and Coventry: What Will Happen in the Next Few Months?
Dr Okan Yilmaz, Professor Sasha Talavera and Dr Joy Jia, 10 June 2020

COVID-19 in West Midlands, an Opportunity for Fostering Urban Micro-Mobility
Dr Magda Cepeda Zorrilla, 9 June 2020

Policy Briefing: The West Midlands’ Automotive Industry in the Aftermath of COVID-19: Survival of the Fittest?
Dr Amir Qamar and Professor Simon Collinson, 2 June 2020

Business Recovery Measures in China (COVID-19)
Dr Fengjie Pan, 1 June 2020

The Uneven Economic Impact of COVID-19: Evidence From Claimant Counts
Dr Tasos Kitsos, 27 May 2020

Capitalising on the Growing Army of Volunteers in the West Midlands During COVID-19
George Bramley, 26 May 2020

The Impact of COVID-19 on Firm Innovation: The Case of the West Midlands 
Dr Chloe Billing, 19 May 2020

‘Getting on the Ladder’ – Challenges Facing Young People Leaving Education During COVID-19
Professor Anne Green, 12 May 2020

COVID-19 Diversification Measures: What Local and Regional Governments Can Do?
Professor Raquel Ortega-Argiles, 7 May 2020

The Role of Short-Time Working Schemes in Mitigating the Impact of Financial Crises: Learning From France and Germany
Dr Abigail Taylor, 5 May 2020

Universities and Regional Economies: Multiplier Effects and the Impact of COVID-19
Dr Tasos Kitsos, 29 April 2020

Estimates of the Local Impact in the West Midlands of the OBR Scenario of a 35% Reduction in Real GDP in Q2 2020
Professor Anne Greene, 28 April 2020

COVID-19 Business Support Measures: Insights from the UK, Spain and Ireland
Professor Raquel Ortega-Argiles, 22 April 2020

Economic Exposure to COVID-19 (Part III): The Situation in the West Midlands Region – The Sectoral Effects of a Lockdown
Dr Andre Carrascal Incera, 26 March 2020

Identifying Exposure: What Do the IFS Estimates on the Coronavirus Sector Shutdown Mean for the West Midlands?
Dr Tasos Kitsos, 8 April 2020