Global Regional Review

Abstract

The present study employs log-log models and comparatively estimates the price-demand relationship of hand sanitizers, face-masks and vitamin-c supplements as COVID-19 prevention-commodities both before and after the exponential spread of the current pandemic. A novel weekly data is collected and generated by a two-stage stratified sampling technique in a field survey from five capital and most populous cities of Pakistan. The least-square methods with structural breaks are employed for city-wise assessment, while fully modified ordinary least square methods are employed for the pooled panel of Pakistan. The structural breaks are assessed using a priori information via graphical analysis as well as employing the global information criterion of structural breaks. The findings suggest demands and prices structurally surged exponentially after the spread of COVID-19 disease in Pakistan. Thus, implying; i) immediate policy check to stabilize the prices of COVID- 19 prevention-commodities for the poor and lower-income groups of people and ii) importing the commodities to fill the existing demand-supply gap to mitigate the spread of the current pandemic as per the World Health Organization benchmark for public prepared-ness to combat COVID-19 disease.

Authors

1-Aziz Ahmed
PhD Scholar/Lecturer, Department of Economics, Baluchistan University of Information Technology Engineering and Management Science (BUITMS), Quetta, Baluchistan, Pakistan.

2-Nagina Gul
Assistant Professor, Faculty of Management Sciences, Balochistan University of Information Technology Engineering & Management Sciences, (BUITEMS), Quetta, Baluchistan, Pakistan.

3-Muhammad Shakeel
PhD Scholar, Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science & Technology (FUUAST), Islamabad Campus, Islamabad, Pakistan.

Keywords

Price-Demand Relationship; Public Health Management; World Health Organization, Pandemic Prevention-Pharmacy-Commodities; COVID-19 Structural Breaks; Weekly Pooled Data

DOI Number

10.31703/grr.2020(V-III).18

Page Nos

166-182

Volume & Issue

V - III