The Making Of An Economic Pandemic

The Making Of An Economic Pandemic

In an exclusive excerpt from The Rules of Contagion, epidemiologist Adam Kucharski re-examines the parallels between 2020 and the 2008 financial crisis to explain how quickly panic goes viral“”and how to stop it.

One Saturday morning in March 2003, a group of experts gathered at WHO headquarters in Geneva to discuss a newly discovered infection in Asia. Cases had already appeared in Hong Kong, China and Vietnam, with another reported in Frankfurt that morning. WHO was about to announce the threat to the world, but first they needed a name. They wanted something that was easy to remember, but which wouldn't stigmatize the countries involved. Eventually they settled on 'Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome,' or SARS for short.

The SARS epidemic would result in over eight thousand cases and several hundred deaths, across multiple continents. Despite being brought under control in June 2003, the epidemic would cost an estimated $40 billion globally. It wasn't just the direct cost of treating disease cases; it was the economic impact of closed workplaces, empty hotels and cancelled trade.

According to Andy Haldane, now Chief Economist at the Bank of England, the wider effects of the SARS epidemic were comparable with the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis.