An anatomy of the impact of COVID-19 on the global and intra-Commonwealth trade in goods.

This article employs gravity modeling to examine the effect of COVID-19 on global and intra-Commonwealth trade. It uses bilateral monthly exports, number of COVID-19 cases and deaths and the stringency of measures. The main novelty is the use of price indices as proxies for multilateral resistance terms, which allow us to identify, supply, and demand effects of COVID-19 on bilateral trade. The incidence of COVID-19 impacts Commonwealth trade flows, the effect varies with the development level. High numbers of COVID-19 cases, including deaths, in low-income importers reduced Commonwealth exports unlike high-income importers that show higher exports. The incidence of COVID in an exporters' neighbouring countries impacted trade and restrictions in high-income countries increased Commonwealth trade. Short-term trends project a negative change in both exports and imports of Commonwealth countries.

Assessing the factors that influence the adoption of healthcare wearables by the older population using an extended PMT model

The present study aims to assess the intention of the older population to use healthcare wearable devices (HWDs) for wellness during life-threatening situations like COVID-19. The target population for the study was senior citizens (individuals aged above 60) living in Delhi and the national capital region. The respondents were aware that smartwatches could be used to monitor their health. Data from 534 respondents was collected using a structured questionnaire and nonprobability-based sampling method. The partial least squares structure equation model (PLS-SEM) was used to test the hypothesized model derived from the protection motivation theory (PMT) and constructs from previous studies on HWDs. Healthcare wearables offer new perspectives for gauging both health and technology-related dimensions. The present study is important as unlike existing studies, it discusses not only the utilitarian characteristics of HWDs but also their health-protective dimensions, which are crucial in times of life-threatening situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings indicate that there is a significant impact of both the protective and utilitarian dimensions of HWDs. The study assesses the perceived vulnerability and severity of the older population in COVID 19 and the intention to use HWDs to handle such health crises. The study confirms that perceived usefulness and information accuracy of HWDs, as well as self-efficacy, perceived severity, and perceived vulnerability of senior citizens are high during the COVID-19 pandemic, which significantly influences their intention to use HWDs.

The changing contours of global value chains post-COVID: Evidence from the Commonwealth.

The COVID-19 pandemic emphasised the global value chains (GVCs) debate by focussing on whether gains from GVC participation outweigh firms associated risks of demand and supply shocks amid rising protectionism. This paper bridges the gap between the international trade and management literature by examining the impact of COVID-19 on Commonwealth countries, an area that has received scant attention in academic literature. Using the Eora database, we simulate scenarios to examine Commonwealth countries' participation in GVCs post-COVID. We draw on the transaction cost economics (TCE) theory to develop a framework that investigates whether growing protectionism, associated with reshoring, decoupling and nearshoring, could potentially affect the constellation and participation of Commonwealth countries in GVCs post-COVID. Results show that trade protectionism is likely to impact the supply chains and lead to GVC reconfiguration, which could offer opportunities for the Commonwealth countries and firms to potentially gain following the geographical redistribution of suppliers.