Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on unemployment in selected countries and country groups

The economic crisis caused by Covid-19 differs from previous economic crises in several ways. It is a global event that developed unexpectedly and hit the world unprepared, primarily attacking human resources, requiring strong governmental measures. The involvement of the human sphere directly affected people's income and lives through labour market effects. Based on literature and statistical data, this study analyses the evolution of the unemployment data of 11 countries (Australia, Chile, the UK, Israel, Japan, China, Hungary, Germany, Italy, Turkey, and the US) and two country groups (EU-27 and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development - OECD) during the economic crisis. Based on the results, the authors identified three distinct groups of countries with 1. moderate growth, slow consolidation;2. robustious upturn, fast then slow correction, and 3. individual patterns. The study demonstrated how government measures took effect differently from the unemployment perspective. The authors referred to the influence of the inhabitants' collective way of thinking and considered it essential to emphasise the positive impact of vaccines.

CAP Direct Payments and Economic Resilience of Agriculture: Impact Assessment

This study presents an innovative approach to measuring the impact of EU CAP direct payments on the economic resilience of agriculture at a sectoral level. The construct of resilience is approached from the perspective of the resilience of the main functions of the sector. The overall level of direct payments impact on sectoral economic resilience is seen as a weighted sum of the payments’ impact on the resilience of the main economic functions of the sector. Such an approach, allowing for a comprehensive estimate of subsidy impact on the most essential areas of agriculture, is universal and can be adapted to measure economic resilience of other economic sectors. For the empirical application we used panel data from 27 EU countries over the period 2005–2019. The results revealed that the overall impact of direct payments on the economic resilience of agriculture across EU-27 was positive. However, the influence of the payments on different key functions of the sector diverged. The most evident and alarming negative changes in the economic resilience levels were observed in terms of efficiency of farms. Negative impact on separate indicators may pose a risk that the influence of direct payments on economic resilience of agriculture may not be sustainable in the longer run.

EU-27 SMEs during pre-Covid-19 and COVID-19 crisis: SME-related brief insights

This study aimed to evaluate Micro and Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) based on an analysis of the connections between SMEs and performance measured during pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 pandemics. Secondary data was applied from the EU-27 SMEs annual reports to sampling European SMEs for ten consecutive years. The quantitative statistical technique was used to assess various SME practices' impact before and during the COVID 19 outbreak. In 2020, the number of EU-27 SMEs was significantly 10.54 % less than in 2018. SME productivity, measured as value-added, was 3.34 trillion EUR in EU-27, 26.49 % lower as compared to 2018. Moreover, EU-27 SMEs also employed people in 2020, significantly 16.99 % less than in 2018. Overall, the pandemic affected EU27 SMEs' numbers and performance. EU-27 SMEs have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, with value-added dropping, employment declining in 2019 and 2020. SMEs' value-added and employment are expected to remain below their respective 2019 levels in 2021.

The effect of border closure on road potential accessibility in the regions of the EU-27. The case of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The purpose of the paper is to show how the national border closures within the EU-27 have an impact on changes in potential accessibility in individual transport at the NUTS3 level. We are referring to the situation that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak in Europe in March 2020. The study distinguishes between long and short trips, comparing the situation before the pandemic with that after the complete closure of national borders by all EU countries, thus showing which areas of the EU will suffer from accessibility losses for both long and short trips. We conclude that the spatial pattern of regions at risk of peripheralisation for short trips well defines the zones in which a serious crisis threatens local cross-border commuting. The threat of peripheralisation for long trips mainly concerns those parts of countries which are closer to the demographic and economic core of the European Union. Nevertheless, it is also compounded by other factors: including the national settlement and road networks.