The COVID-19 Pandemic, India and the World Economic and Social Policy Perspectives

This book analyses the economic and social impact of the Covid-19 crisis with special focus on India. It examines the economic disruption caused by the pandemic, policy responses to it and the prospect of a severe global recession. It also covers how the pandemic has contributed to considerable suffering among the masses and affected socio-cultural relationships, behavioural patterns and psychological attitudes governing human interaction.

A topical and timely collection on the pandemic, the essays in the volume discuss several key themes which include,

· The Corona pandemic and the changing global economy; growth, trade and macroeconomic recovery;

· Public health and policy failures; appropriate policy response;

· Impact on education; guidelines for the future;

· Idea of economic herd immunity; impact of India?s lockdown, crisis of the migrant labourers;

· Impact on agriculture, industry, firms, households and the informal sector;

· Implications of digital technology for production, labour and labour relations;

· Violence amidst the virus; Covid 19 and Hindu- Muslim conflict in India, domestic violence, questions of occupation, identity, gender and vulnerability;

· De-globalisation and environmental challenges in the post-Covid era.

Engagingly written, this comprehensive volume compiles original research by leading economists from India and abroad. It will be useful for scholars and researchers of economics, of the Indian economy, development economics, development studies, labour studies, public policy, public administration, governance, sociology and political economy.

1. Introduction: Corona Pandemic and the Changing Global Economy Part I: Conflicts, Trust and Society2. The Covid-19 Pandemic and its Impact on Global Political Economy 3. Riding the wave or going under? The Covid-19 Pandemic and Trust in Governments 4. India’s Lockdown 5. Violence amidst Virus: An Essay on Conflicts in the World and at Home in times of a Pandemic 6. Brothers in Arms? Covid-19 and Hindu-Muslim conflict in India Part II: Macroeconomic Issues and Environment 7. The Long Shadow of Epidemics 8. The Macroeconomic Impact of Covid-19 on the Indian Economy: An Exploratory Framework 9. Developing Economic Herd Immunity in the Face of a Pandemic 10. COVID-19 and an Assessment of Some Policy Actions Adopted by India 11. Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic on of De –Globalization 12. Green or Brown? Global Environment in the Post COVIDian Era and Challenges for India Part III: Sectoral Perspectives 13. Coping with COVID-19 and its Consequences: Household Adjustments in India 14. Firm Fragility: A Re-Interpretation in the Times of the COVID-19 Outbreak 15. Impact of COVID -19 on Manufacturing Industries in India: Networks and Trade Dependence 16. Measurement of efficiency loss in Indian Agricultural Sector due to COVID-19: Evidence from Rice Production 17. The Pandemic and the Informal Sector of India: probable impacts and strategic intervention 18. Covid-19 Pandemic: Implications for Widowed and Elderly Women in India Part IV:Health, Education and Labour 19. Policy Failure before COVID Pandemic and Options for the Government in Near Future 20. Higher Education in the Post-Covid Era : India and the World 21. Lockdowns, Migrants and the Spatial Distribution of COVID-19 Cases in India: Consequences of a “tough and timely decision" 22. Labour and the Pandemic : A Study on Work, Employment and Work Situation 23. Covid-19 Pandemic and Migrant workers: India and the World 24. The Future of Labor Segmentation after COVID-19

Rajib Bhattacharyya is an associate professor in economics, Department of Economics, Goenka College of Commerce and Business Administration, Kolkata, India.

Ananya Ghosh Dastidar is a professor in economics, Department of Finance and Business Economics, the University of Delhi, India.

Soumyen Sikdar is professor in economics, Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, Kolkata, India.