Classification of the EU countries according to the vulnerability of their economies to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic

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Purpose: The paper's objective is to identify the similarities of EU countries in terms of the entire sets of indicators. Hence, the multi-dimensional cluster analysis is applied to evaluate the economic vulnerability to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/Methodology/Approach: A hierarchical and non-hierarchical cluster analysis method was used in the paper. At the first step, EU countries were clustered with Ward's method, and the following k-means method was applied for grouping countries.

Findings: In the study, four clusters were identified. Southern European countries grouped in the 1st Cluster performed the highest level of vulnerability to the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, and the Scandinavian countries appeared to be the least vulnerable EU economies to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and were grouped in the 4th Cluster. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe, most of which joined the EU in the 21st century, were characterized by moderate vulnerability and belonged to the 2nd and 3rd Cluster. Practical

Implications: The results obtained can be used by policymakers to make better decisions to mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic on economies.

Originality/Value: Most clustering of countries according to the impact of a COVID-19 pandemic examines how the virus spreads from a medical point of view. There is little literature on the economic impact of a coronavirus pandemic. This study will fulfill this gap.

Tytuł
Classification of the EU countries according to the vulnerability of their economies to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic
Twórca
Brzyska Joanna ORCID 0000-0003-3589-6313
Słowa kluczowe
cluster analysis; COVID-19 pandemic; vulnerability; Ward’Method; K-means clustering
Słowa kluczowe
analiza skupień; pandemia COVID-19; wrażliwość; metoda Warda; grupowanie metodą k-średnich
Współtwórca
Szamrej-Baran Izabela ORCID 0000-0002-9824-362X
Data
2021
Typ zasobu
artykuł
Identyfikator zasobu
DOI 10.35808/ersj/2318
Źródło
European Research Studies Journal, 2021, vol. 24 iss. 2B, pp. 967-978
Język
angielski
Prawa autorskie
CC BY CC BY
Dyscyplina naukowa
Dziedzina nauk społecznych; Ekonomia i finanse
Kategorie
Publikacje pracowników US
Data udostępnienia2 wrz 2021, 11:42:29
Data mod.7 mar 2022, 13:33:57
DostępPubliczny
Aktywnych wyświetleń0