Italy is among the most impacted countries by the covid-19 following a significantly high death rate as a result of the disease in 2020. The covid-19 pandemic led to a decrease in the country's GDP by 5.4% in the first quarter and 12.4% in the second quarter (Vismara, 2020) overall contributing to a decreased economic performance in the financial year 2020.
Because the country's economy majorly depends on international trading in imports and exports it was significantly impacted by the pandemic to a much larger extent than its European counterparts. This is due to the 3-month lockdown that effectively crippled the countries transport system thereby disrupting international trade. Zeneli (2021) highlights a 13% decrease of Italians real per capita income from $43,000 to $37,900, despite other countries in the EU experiencing at least a 25% rise.
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Overall, the covid-19 pandemic impacted a wide section of Italy's economy leading to the suspension of economic activities for up to 2.1 million enterprises employing more than 7.1 million people (Vismara, 2020). The airline manufacturing industry, energy sector, fashion, and the automotive industry were also among the other hard-hit sectors averaging 22.1%, 15.9%, 14.1%, and 9.1% in losses.
According to the International Trade Administration (2020), Italy was the 19th largest market for US exports totaling $23.8 billion, while the US was Italy's third-largest destination for exports totaling $57.2 billion. However, Varella (2021) highlights a 15.8% decrease in Italian exports in 2020 as a result of the crippling of international trading activities by the coronavirus pandemic. While it is a health matter, the Covid-19 pandemic has had significant impacts on the Italian economy to a potentially long-lasting effect. This research looks to investigate these immediate impacts as well as the potential long-term effects that can be forecasted.
References
International Trade Administration. (2020). Italy - Market Overview . International Trade Administration | Trade.gov. Retrieved 23 June 2021, from https://www.trade.gov/knowledge-product/italy-market-overview .
Varrella, S. (2021). Italy: impact of the coronavirus on exports 2020-2022 | Statista . Statista. Retrieved 23 June 2021, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1112352/forecasted-impact-of-the-coronavirus-covid-19-on-italian-exports/ .
Vismara, F. (2020). Reflections on COVID-19 – Views from Italy . The National Law Review. Retrieved 23 June 2021, from https://www.natlawreview.com/article/reflections-covid-19-views-italy .
Zeneli, V. (2021). Italy: No Political Crisis, But an Economic One - The Globalist . The Globalist. Retrieved 23 June 2021, from https://www.theglobalist.com/europe-european-union-italy-employment-covid19/.
