TY - JOUR
T1 - Economic resilience in an era of ‘systemic risk’
T2 - Insights from four key economic sectors in Sri Lanka
AU - Jayasinghe, Naduni
AU - Fernando, Shiran
AU - Haigh, Richard
AU - Amaratunga, Dilanthi
AU - Fernando, Nishara
AU - Vithanage, Chandrarathna
AU - Ratnayake, Jayani
AU - Ranawana, Chamathya
N1 - Funding Information:
In terms of state support provided during the pandemic, the respondents stated that the crop production sector was immediately supported through the provision of seeds and planting material to farmers. Further, fruit and vegetable production was supported by the introduction of digital platforms to enable the transportation of the produce to markets while the dairy sector was supported as described below:
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors
PY - 2022/5/21
Y1 - 2022/5/21
N2 - COVID-19 has showcased the systematic nature of risks. Its effects have spanned beyond the health sector causing severe economic disruptions. Sri Lanka's GDP contracted by 3.6% in 2020 from a 2.3% growth in 2019, reflecting the largest economic downturn recorded in the country's history. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has been largely perceived as unprecedented by most economic sectors and businesses functioning within them, pandemics are not a novel phenomenon given their intermittent occurrence in the past. This study aimed at examining the resilience of four key sectors in Sri Lanka during the COVID-19 pandemic, namely apparel, tourism, agriculture and construction. The study sought to identify the factors that have both enhanced and hindered their resilience during the pandemic and provide recommendations to strengthen their resilience for future pandemics and multi-hazard scenarios featuring pandemics. The study draws upon primary data gathered through four round table discussions carried out with a total of 30 key informants representing the selected sectors. The findings reveal that for economic resilience to be achieved within the selected economic sectors, resilience building measures should be undertaken at three levels: 1) orgaizational level; 2) sectoral level and 3) country level, while also recognising the need for consonance and congruence between measures taken at each level.
AB - COVID-19 has showcased the systematic nature of risks. Its effects have spanned beyond the health sector causing severe economic disruptions. Sri Lanka's GDP contracted by 3.6% in 2020 from a 2.3% growth in 2019, reflecting the largest economic downturn recorded in the country's history. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has been largely perceived as unprecedented by most economic sectors and businesses functioning within them, pandemics are not a novel phenomenon given their intermittent occurrence in the past. This study aimed at examining the resilience of four key sectors in Sri Lanka during the COVID-19 pandemic, namely apparel, tourism, agriculture and construction. The study sought to identify the factors that have both enhanced and hindered their resilience during the pandemic and provide recommendations to strengthen their resilience for future pandemics and multi-hazard scenarios featuring pandemics. The study draws upon primary data gathered through four round table discussions carried out with a total of 30 key informants representing the selected sectors. The findings reveal that for economic resilience to be achieved within the selected economic sectors, resilience building measures should be undertaken at three levels: 1) orgaizational level; 2) sectoral level and 3) country level, while also recognising the need for consonance and congruence between measures taken at each level.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Economic sectors
KW - Systemic risk
KW - Resilience
KW - Pandemics
KW - Sri Lanka
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85134024629&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.pdisas.2022.100231
DO - 10.1016/j.pdisas.2022.100231
M3 - Article
VL - 14
JO - Progress in Disaster Science
JF - Progress in Disaster Science
SN - 2590-0617
M1 - 100231
ER -
