Covid-19: Impact On The Economy Of A Nation

Abstract

The anxiousness of economic sectors in the Philippines heightened when the GDP declined to 16.5%
in the second quarter of 2020. This paper aimed to reflect the economic effect of the Covid 19
pandemic accounting for the number of cases during and after lockdown. It identified key economic
sectors both affected and not by the pandemic. Researchers employed data mining and descriptive
methods with the aid of horizontal and vertical analysis of the Philippine GDP to describe the
Philippine economy during the period of community quarantine. The economic impact of COVID to
the regions were described using the distance formula. For better illustration of the results, the
researchers employed Gephi software. Findings revealed that the information and communication,
financial and insurance activities, and public administration and defense which includes the
compulsory social services were the economic sectors not affected by the pandemic despite the policy
on partial or non-opening of business centers. On the other hand, the greatly hit economic sectors
during a pandemic are transportation and communication, accommodation and food service activities,
and other services. These sectors positively affected all other sectors of the economy except for agrihunting, forestry, and fishing, information and communication, financial and insurance activities, and
public administration and defense: compulsory social activities. The Philippine economy will continue
to decline when these hard-hit sectors cannot recover. The economic measures were highest in NCR
having the maximum risk of economic loss and COVID 19 infection. Region 3 and Region 4A were
identified to contribute most to the economic loss other than NCR. The safety measures are stringent
to the identified regions but these measures may not be applied to the rest of the Philippine regions.