Marcel R. Salikhov

The governments of big cities in the Asian and Pacific regions implemented more effective policies during the COVID pandemic than cities in Europe and America. This is the conclusion of a study prepared by HSE University. Singapore did it better than the others, Moscow took second place, while the Top-5 also includes Shanghai, Seoul and Beijing. The researchers say that the key factor in Moscow’s success factor was how quickly economic activity resumed in the city, which was, among other things, supported by large-scale inflows from the city budget.

The global economy’s pace of recovery after the pandemic largely depends on whether consumers will return to a hedonic style of consumption. At the XXII April International Academic Conference, organized by the HSE and Sberbank, the HSE School of World Economy held a round table ‘The World Economy in the Context of the Coronavirus Pandemic’.

How high is the risk of a full-blown financial crisis after the pandemic? Which countries and regions are most at risk? Are national governments managing to cope with the challenge of preventing economic collapse? Such topics were the focus of attention at the annual conference organised by the HSE University Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs.

Researchers from HSE University conducted a study of 15 of the world’s largest cities in Europe, Asia, and North America that assessed the cities’ labour market activity, post-quarantine economic recoveries, and the extent to which their digital infrastructures were prepared for the crisis. The study showed that Seoul and Shanghai, followed by Moscow, dealt with the crisis most effectively. Singapore and Stockholm ranked 4^th and 5^th, respectively.

In a recent study, HSE University researchers analyzed and ranked the responses of 48 countries to the coronavirus pandemic. National responses were evaluated with regard to three factors: medical care, social support, and economic support. Among the 48 analyzed countries, Russia placed 7^th, while Australia ranked the first.

In a study, ‘How Many Deaths from COVID-19 Were Avoided by Russian Society’, experts from HSE University found that the restrictive measures taken by the Russian government and its citizens to combat the spread of the virus saved the lives of tens of thousands of Russians.