Impact of Ebola and Covid-19 on the Sierra Leone Economy: A Macroeconomic Assessment

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.