The macroeconomic effects of COVID-19 vaccinations in five Asian countries

Abstract

COVID-19 vaccines were released en masse globally in 2021 and were regarded by policy makers as crucial in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. An important question is thus to understand the benefits of the vaccines beyond the direct effects of reducing mortality and morbidity. Using available epidemiological evidence on the effectiveness of vaccines we estimate the economic benefits of vaccination in five important Asian economies – India, Indonesia, South Korea, the Philippines and Vietnam – by applying a dynamic multi-country general equilibrium model. This framework captures the direct and indirect effects of vaccination. Our results show net benefits in terms of GDP for all five economies ranging from 0.16% (India) to 1.1% (South Korea); these depend on the degree of vaccination amongst the population. South Korea shows the most significant benefits while other countries experience smaller benefits. Our findings are consistent with other studies estimating the economic benefits of vaccination.