Economic Concerns

• World Econ. Forum/Booz Allen Pandemic Flu simulation Press release and link to report
• U.S. Congressional Budget Office report on

A Potential Influenza Pandemic: Possible Macroeconomic Effects and Policy Issues.pdf Dec 2006

• Lowry Institute for International Policy report on

Global macroeconomic consequences of pandemic influenza .pdf Feb 2006

• Supply chain risk management from AMR Research
  • H5N1 potential impact on food industry .pdf
• International Monetary Fund
  see also IMF report page 37-39 of 60 in .pdf, index link here.
• Canadian Manufacturers And Exporters
  • Continuity Planning Guide for Canadian Business .pdf
• Marsh, a leading risk and insurance services firm, has been actively producing materials related to the possible pandemic; see here and here. Among that material is a white paper entitled “Avian Flu: Preparing for a Pandemic” prepared by Marsh and its sister companies Kroll and Mercer Management Consulting. In addition to background and a discussion of corporate preparedness, it includes the international implications of a pandemic, and outlines some of the potential insurance coverage issues related to pandemics.
• In August 2005, Toronto-based brokerage firm BMO Nesbitt Burns issued a report detailing the economic impact of an influenza pandemic on global markets, suggesting it could trigger a crisis similar to that of the Great Depression. An appriaisal of the known facts for business preparedness was written in October 2005.
  • An Investor’s Guide to Avian Flu
  • Don’t Fear or Panic
  • The Avian Flu Crisis: An Economic Update
• The World Bank has done some of the only estimations of the economic impact of a flu pandemic. They are using the number of $800 billion in global impact, as reported in November, 2005
  • The Bank has also done more detailed estimates for East Asia, including the to-date impact on the poultry and egg industries, and potential impact if it gets worse.
• Reserve Bank, NZ crisis management plan for pandemic flu
  • news story about the report
• Preparing for a Plague

• Avian Flu: What Should Be Done Dr. Tyler Cowen is the General Director of the Mercatus Center and the Holbert C. Harris Chair of Economics at George Mason University.
• Article by Helen Branswell, veteran influenza reporter, on financial concerns in Canada
• Report from a local business forum in the Seattle / Tacoma area
• Future pundit on the economics of pandemic flu
• Can the Life Insurance Industry Survive the Avian Flu? is a report released January 17, 2006 by the Insurance Information Institute, estimating that a severe influenza pandemic could result in $133.2 billion in claims, severaly stressing the system.
• Notes from a Deutsche Bank flu conference (pdf)
• Presentations from a 2005 conference at the Royal United Service Insitute in the UK on the global challenges and national response

Ian Welsh’s article series

Ian Welsh’s two-part essay, The Economics of a Flu Pandemic, discusses the economic ramifications of a pandemic before, during and after the outbreak, including the managing of scarcities, the emergence of black markets, rationing and other similiar matters.

• The Economics of a Flu Pandemic Part I
• The Economics of a Flu Pandemic Part II

For more on the possible disruption of essential services, please visit and help us build the page on Anticipated Problems.
Discuss this page in the Forum.

‹ Ethical | Issues | Political ›