A multidisciplinary research team, including Jurian Edelenbos from the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, has been awarded a ZonMw COVID-19 research grant (500.000 euros) in the track of Societal Dynamics for the project The Resilient Delta. He works together with Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) (project leader), the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. The team will investigate the societal effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the (intended) measures for mitigation.
Jurian Edelenbos, Professor in Interactive Urban Governance and Academic director of the Erasmus Initiative Vital Cities and Citizens, is enthusiastic about the potential societal impact of this project. 'The learning evaluation approach central in this project provides opportunities to the four involved Dutch regions to learn, also from each other, which specific COVID-19 mitigation measures lead to what socio-economic effects.'
According to Professor Frank van Oort from ESE, the main applicant of this grant and project leader, the combination of expertise of regional economics and public administration makes this project truly interdisciplinary in character: ‘The cocreation with local governments offers a unique opportunity for direct use of outcomes in policy.’
Short- and long-term economic impacts of corona policies
The research focuses on short- and long-term economic impacts of corona policies. It analyses how regional and sectoral variation in pandemic-related measures can limit negative short-term economic consequences. Actual and potential corona measures of national, regional and local governments will be translated into localised production and consumption restrictions, identifying direct and indirect (interregional value chain) effects on GDP, employment and competitiveness of firms. The research further aims to identify how structural regional change can be stimulated for increasing long-term resilience of the economy, focusing on spatially diversifying trade networks (more local or flexible production networks to spread risks) and related labor market outcomes. The regional and sectoral specificity of economic impacts means that economic mitigation does not have a “one-size-fits-all” character. The consortium will investigate these fundamental issues in the coming two years in collaboration with three municipalities, four provinces and three Dutch ministries.
Press release partly acquired from ESE
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Marjolein Kooistra, Media and Public Relations Officer at Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences: kooistra@essb.eur.nl.
