Economists, both nationally and in Alaska, are frequently asked to assess the economic costs of the steps taken to limit the spread of COVID-19. The economic impacts are huge; the US is experiencing rates of unemployment not seen since the 1930s in the Great Depression. But the benefits of saving lives by reducing deaths due to COVID-10 area also very large. In a recent a working paper, “The Impacts of the ‘Hunker Down’ order in Anchorage,” Assistant Professor Kevin Berry used the concept of the economic value of a statistical life to undertake an approximate comparison of the economic costs (in lost income) and economic benefits (in saved lives) of the Municipal response to the coronavirus outbreak. His work combines epidemiological modeling of how COVID-19 could have spread without the Hunker Down order with the value of a “statistical life”. The results suggest that the economic benefits of saving human lives to date has far exceeded the economic costs in lost income.
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Dr. Mouhcine Guettabi joined Mayor Ethan Berkowitz at the Anchorage daily COVID-19 community update on Wednesday, May 6. He discussed the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the Anchorage economy and the prospects for economic recovery. A video of the briefing is available from the Anchorage Daily News website. Dr. Guettabi’s presentation begins at about 16:42 and lasts about 12 minutes. His presentation can be found in ISER's publications database.
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Dr. Mouhcine Guettabi and Jon Bittner join host Lori Townsend on a recent episode of Alaska Public Media's Talk of Alaska to discuss the effects of COVID-19 on Alaska's economy. The recording and transcript are available from their website.
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Dr. Mouhcine Guettabi has completed an initial estimate of the possible impact of the COVID-19 business closures on the Alaska economy. To develop those estimates, he focused upon the impacts on the three most directly affected industries: leisure and hospitality, retail, and transportation. He estimated that the direct and indirect effects from reduced activity in those three sectors would be about 48,000 jobs and would reduce state GDP by almost $2 billion in the second quarter of 2020, If the closures are sustained, an additional $2 billion could be lost. Professor Guettabi's estimates may not capture the impacts of many smaller losses spread throughout the economy and do not include possible impacts on the economy from the recent collapse of oil prices. They also do not include the possible offsetting impact of federal COVID-19 aid to Alaska.
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Faculty members Dr. Mouhcine Guettabi and Dr. Kevin Berry answer questions about the COVID-19 pandemic in the latest releases of Ask a UAA Expert. Dr. Guettabi answers questions related to the State economic consequences while Dr. Berry addresses pandemic economics. Check out the videos!
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The Institute of Social and Economic Research’s (ISER) Dr. Kevin Berry recently co-wrote an article with Dr. Katherine Lee (University of Idaho) published in The Hill. The piece, Why a go-it-alone approach to combatting the coronavirus won't work, addresses the current coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19) and why we need coordinated international efforts in order to minimize the overall effects.
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The Institute of Social and Economic Research’s Professor Kevin Berry recently discussed the coronavirus with both Alaska Public Media and KTUU. He says the oil, fishing, tourism and cargo industries may be especially susceptible to the effects of the outbreak.
“These things will probably slow down the economy because, within China, people are being told to stay inside, not move around,” Berry commented. “So we can expect the economy as a whole to slow down because of this. There’s going to be an impact on things like oil.”
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A new paper by CBHRS researchers Dr. Bridget Hanson and Becky Porter describes experiences of Alaskans using naloxone to prevent opioid overdose in their peers. Participants described naloxone as easy to use and effective in reversing overdose. They emphasized the need to have naloxone widely available in order to prevent overdose death.
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Participants in a study that compared an alcohol intervention app (Step Away) to an Artificial Intelligence (AI) version (Step Away Chatbot), emphasize that positivity, personalization, tailored tips and the ability to track their drinking were the most helpful features for sustaining their engagement with the program.
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CBHRS researchers are evaluating Project HOPE, the State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services’ Narcan® distribution and overdose education program. Narcan® is a nasal spray medication that reverses opioid overdose. The public distribution of opioid overdose rescue kits is a best practice strategy to reduce opioid-related deaths.