ABSTRACT
Aggressive global dissemination of the coronavirus indicated the urgency of the development of vaccines at an unprecedented rate and scale. The limited production and short supply of vaccines which were reserved mostly for the advanced economies were the greatest problems of 2021. For emerging economies, this timeline will stretch to late 2022 or early 2023. As a part of systematic immunization programs, the development, licensing, and implementation of the vaccines against the Covid-19 virus started to address health service inequalities among countries. While on one hand vaccination is regarded to be one of the most cost-effective interventions in public health during the pandemic, on the other hand, the introduction and sustainable supply of vaccines needed to be supported and ensured by decision-makers and governments. Due to the weak economic conditions of developing countries, they could not provide enough financial and health support to their citizens during this period. However, since the global GDP loss from not inoculating all countries is higher than the cost of manufacturing and distributing vaccines globally, there has been a growing demand to international cooperation to have global vaccination without omitting any countries. This paper focuses on the economic and social costs and benefits of vaccinations during the Covid-19 pandemic period in advanced, middle, and low-income countries. Accordingly, macroeconomic and social impacts of vaccination will be discussed and some policy suggestions will be put forth to get more benefits from the vaccination both for economic and health outcomes.
ABSTRACT
Aim: The recent macroeconomic problems in the global economy are highly related to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Since the highest spread of the disease is observed in the European countries, it is worthwhile to investigate the macroeconomic indicators in the European Union (EU) member and the candidate countries. Inflation is one of the most important indicators to examine since it may directly affect many macroeconomic variables. In this study, the determinants of inflation in the 28 EU members and candidate states are investigated. Material and Methods: In this study, the determinants of inflation in the 28 EU members and candidate states are investigated for January 2020-July 2020 using spatial panel data analysis. Results: The empirical results indicated that the exchange rate and money supply ratios were reasons of the increase in inflation. There is also increasing pressure on the inflation rates due to the domestic money supply and exchange rate variables as well as the neighborhood relations between countries (positive spatial effects). Conclusion: It is an important finding that macroeconomic problems in each sample country are also affected by developments in neighboring countries as well as internal dynamics. Continuous development of economic, social, and political cooperation between neighboring countries at the regional level is essential. It is reasonable for every country to develop self-sufficient strategies in the fields of agriculture, food, technology, and pharmaceutical industries in case of global disasters. Regional cooperation should not be limited to the development of sectors that stand out during the pandemic period. © 2020, Duzce University Medical School. All rights reserved.