All of life is interconnected where each part depends on the other. Take the food chain for example, where each level supplies the next, and humankind is top of table. But the damage from global warming is rippling through the food chain. Did you know the coronavirus is doing something similar? Let’s examine how COVID-19 ripples through the economy.
Getting and Spending as COVID-19 Ripples Through the Economy
Economics is getting and spending at all levels of the economy. An entrepreneur starts a new enterprise, and this becomes a major player in the food supply industry. Eventually, it employs many people from different levels of society. They spend most of their earnings within the economy.
The coronavirus pandemic is disturbing this balance. As COVID-19 ripples through the economy it takes out some of these small players. A small corner store closes, and it lays off a few people. They have less money for food. A street hawker loses their living. When we multiply this effect many times over, we begin to glimpse one of the the deeper implications of the pandemic.
The Ripple Effect of Closed Office Buildings on Shopping Malls
Journalist Hilary George-Parkin witnessed this phenomenon when she visited he passageways beneath Brookfield Place in downtown Toronto. This is a vast labyrinth of underground halls forming the pathway between the city’s office towers, subway stations and sports arenas.
Each of these elements feeds the next. But the city’s office towers are at the top of the chain. The rest of the labyrinth exists to serve the needs of the office workers. But there’s a big ‘however’ here. What if the office workers continued working from home? The mayor’s office recommends this to take pressure off the transport system. What could happen to the businesses in the labyrinth?
Hilary George-Parkin contributed an article to BBC Work Life. She says many small businesses and franchises are slowly dying. They fear they will not survive a second round of the pandemic as COVID-19 ripples through their micro economy. Imagine owning a shop where hardly anybody passes your door, she says.
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Preview Image: Beneath First Canadian Place
