DIFFERENTIAL IMPACT OF COVID-19 IN AUSTRALIA: EVIDENCE FROM GOOGLE SEARCH DATA
Quantifying the immediate economic impact of COVID-19 is important to design proportionate relief and support policies. However, surveys of businesses and households are only typically available after considerable delay. We use near-real-time Google search data to examine the temporal and spatial im...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte Ltd.
2021-08-01
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| Series: | Journal of Business & Economic Analysis |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/10.1142/S273756682150002X |
| _version_ | 1797352810170286080 |
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| author | WEE CHIAN KOH |
| author_facet | WEE CHIAN KOH |
| author_sort | WEE CHIAN KOH |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Quantifying the immediate economic impact of COVID-19 is important to design proportionate relief and support policies. However, surveys of businesses and households are only typically available after considerable delay. We use near-real-time Google search data to examine the temporal and spatial impacts of COVID-19 on service sector activity in Australia. We find that the travel-related and consumer-facing sectors, such as aviation, tourism, hotels, restaurants, and retail trade, suffered steep contractions during the outbreak. By contrast, sectors that involve less physical and face-to-face interaction, such as info-communication technology (ICT) and delivery services, experienced significant gains. The magnitude of the impact is large. During the first COVID-19 wave between January and March, the demand for air travel, tourism, and hotel accommodation declined by 60–80%, while the demand for ICT and delivery services surged by more than 50%. In states and territories with low caseloads, the impact has also been severe due to government-enforced nationwide social distancing measures to contain disease spread. However, in states and territories that eased restrictions earlier and faster, there has been no significant reduction in demand for certain consumer-facing services. Our findings demonstrate the usefulness of high-frequency and near-real-time indicators in monitoring the rapidly unfolding effects of COVID-19. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T13:22:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fc48380d8bc74703b59268c03bca6854 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2737-5668 2618-0324 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T13:22:12Z |
| publishDate | 2021-08-01 |
| publisher | World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte Ltd. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Business & Economic Analysis |
| spelling | doaj.art-fc48380d8bc74703b59268c03bca68542024-01-18T01:53:06ZengWorld Scientific Publishing Co. Pte Ltd.Journal of Business & Economic Analysis2737-56682618-03242021-08-01040152110.1142/S273756682150002XDIFFERENTIAL IMPACT OF COVID-19 IN AUSTRALIA: EVIDENCE FROM GOOGLE SEARCH DATAWEE CHIAN KOH0Centre for Strategic and Policy Studies, CSPS Building, SPG 347 Jalan Pasar Baru Gadong BE1318, Brunei DarussalamQuantifying the immediate economic impact of COVID-19 is important to design proportionate relief and support policies. However, surveys of businesses and households are only typically available after considerable delay. We use near-real-time Google search data to examine the temporal and spatial impacts of COVID-19 on service sector activity in Australia. We find that the travel-related and consumer-facing sectors, such as aviation, tourism, hotels, restaurants, and retail trade, suffered steep contractions during the outbreak. By contrast, sectors that involve less physical and face-to-face interaction, such as info-communication technology (ICT) and delivery services, experienced significant gains. The magnitude of the impact is large. During the first COVID-19 wave between January and March, the demand for air travel, tourism, and hotel accommodation declined by 60–80%, while the demand for ICT and delivery services surged by more than 50%. In states and territories with low caseloads, the impact has also been severe due to government-enforced nationwide social distancing measures to contain disease spread. However, in states and territories that eased restrictions earlier and faster, there has been no significant reduction in demand for certain consumer-facing services. Our findings demonstrate the usefulness of high-frequency and near-real-time indicators in monitoring the rapidly unfolding effects of COVID-19.https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/10.1142/S273756682150002XGoogle searchCOVID-19non-pharmaceutical interventionssocial distancingAustralia |
| spellingShingle | WEE CHIAN KOH DIFFERENTIAL IMPACT OF COVID-19 IN AUSTRALIA: EVIDENCE FROM GOOGLE SEARCH DATA Journal of Business & Economic Analysis Google search COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions social distancing Australia |
| title | DIFFERENTIAL IMPACT OF COVID-19 IN AUSTRALIA: EVIDENCE FROM GOOGLE SEARCH DATA |
| title_full | DIFFERENTIAL IMPACT OF COVID-19 IN AUSTRALIA: EVIDENCE FROM GOOGLE SEARCH DATA |
| title_fullStr | DIFFERENTIAL IMPACT OF COVID-19 IN AUSTRALIA: EVIDENCE FROM GOOGLE SEARCH DATA |
| title_full_unstemmed | DIFFERENTIAL IMPACT OF COVID-19 IN AUSTRALIA: EVIDENCE FROM GOOGLE SEARCH DATA |
| title_short | DIFFERENTIAL IMPACT OF COVID-19 IN AUSTRALIA: EVIDENCE FROM GOOGLE SEARCH DATA |
| title_sort | differential impact of covid 19 in australia evidence from google search data |
| topic | Google search COVID-19 non-pharmaceutical interventions social distancing Australia |
| url | https://www.worldscientific.com/doi/10.1142/S273756682150002X |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT weechiankoh differentialimpactofcovid19inaustraliaevidencefromgooglesearchdata |