Two Years of Fighting the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Analysis of the Policy Plurality and Response Performance of Emerging Economies

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has ruined the faster growth patterns of emerging economies. Emerging economies with their constrained of resource availability and resource allocation response to the epidemic differently based on the extent of damage and recovery required. While there is no ‘one size fits for all’ approach in policy responses, a combination of policy tools employed by rising nations may provide critical insights into their actual economic capabilities. In this paper, from January 2020 to December 2021, we examine and evaluate the policies adopted by emerging economies to combat the pandemic. IMF's Policy Tracker database is used to encode, analyze, and assess 25 selected emerging economies' policies at the global, regional, and income levels. Emerging economies use a wider portfolio of policy tools with better coverage, with budgetary biases. Findings could help understand the heterogeneity of policy responses across emerging economies during the pandemic’s economic disaster.