COVID-19 As an Economic Indicator: Impact Upon Overall U.S. Market Health

In early 2020, the United States reported its initial case of COVID-19, which has since grown to be a global health pandemic. This pandemic led to a downturn in the U.S. economy, affecting every possible sector to various degrees. This research paper examines the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic upon two stock market indices: the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and the Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500). Using a group of data sets consisting of daily index closing prices of the DJIA and S&P 500, a series of quantitative analyses examined the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic upon index values. Significant differences were found in daily closing prices of both indices when compared across the two time periods utilized for this study. Future implications of policy changes such as economic stimulus packages and payroll tax holiday legislation are explored.

Understanding a pandemic: the power of administrative data

Public sector administrative data has long been a powerful - if under-utilised - tool to help manage our society, economy and public services on the basis of lived experience. The Covid-19 pandemic only emphasises the need for timely access to the UK’s existing wealth of public sector data, to ensure the way we live and work, and our responses in times of crisis, are driven by the most comprehensive evidence available to us. For a thorough understanding of the impacts of Covid-19 on productivity, access to administrative data for research is nothing essential. © Philip McCann and Tim Vorley 2021.