TITLE:
Impact of Ebola and Covid-19 on the Sierra Leone Economy: A Macroeconomic Assessment
AUTHORS:
Abdulai Sillah, Alhaji Sorie Ibrahim Barrie
KEYWORDS:
Ebola and Covid-19, Sierra Leone Economy, Macroeconomic Assessment
JOURNAL NAME:
Modern Economy,
Vol.13 No.12,
December
30,
2022
ABSTRACT: This paper assesses the impact of Ebola and Covid-19
outbreaks on macroeconomic stability in Sierra Leone. The paper adopts a mix of
both qualitative and quantitative approach of analysis using secondary
information and data. Specifically, it looks at projections of key economic
indicators for Sierra Leone before the start of the outbreaks and after the
outbreaks (counterfactual analysis) and the policies employed to cushion the
economy against the adverse effects of the outbreaks. The study concludes that
the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 on macroeconomic outcomes in the
country was less severe than that of the impact of the Ebola outbreak of
2014-2015. This was partly due to the pertinent lessons learned from the Ebola
outbreak, which helped policy makers to take quick and prudent actions that
greatly attenuated the negative impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the economy
in 2020. Both policy practitioners and academicians will find this paper very
useful in trying to understand macroeconomic dynamics in Sierra Leone during
the last decade.