Transformations  in
Business & Economics

THE IMPACT OF THE CRISIS GENERATED BY COVID-19 ON THE POPULATION CONCERNS. A COMPARATIVE STUDY AT THE LEVEL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION¹
Gavril Stefan, Oana Coca, Diana Elena Creanga, Gabriel Claudiu Mursa, Costica Mihai

ABSTRACT. Over time, people have strived to improve continually the process of resource allocation so that they can enjoy an increasingly better standard of living, despite the scarcity of resources. In the long run, the improvement of the material and spiritual condition of man depends on the process of economic development, which is a defining feature of human history. However, the process of economic development is not continuous, it is threatened by various factors. One of these factors, of a non-economic nature, is the pandemic. The purpose of this article is to highlight the impact generated by the COVID-19 pandemic on the population's concerns about its standard of living in the countries of the European Union. Through a quantitative analysis, the authors aim to explain the effects of the COVID-19 crisis on GDP and the main concerns of the population regarding the possible decline in living standards, caused precisely by the decline in GDP. In addition, the authors highlight the vulnerabilities of the European economy to such a crisis and propose, in summary, some policies to limit its negative effects.

KEYWORDS:  economic development, COVID-19, crisis, concerns, population.

JEL classification:  E24, J24, J64.

¹ Acknowledgement::  This work was co-funded by the European Social Fund, through Operational Programme Human Capital 2014-2020, project number POCU/380/6/13/123623, project title "PhD Students and Postdoctoral Researchers Prepared for the Labour Market!"..