01710cas a2200253 a 4500 AALejournalIMF021297 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781513559162 1018-5941 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL Saadi Sedik, Tahsin. A Vicious Cycle : How Pandemics Lead to Economic Despair and Social Unrest / Tahsin Saadi Sedik, Rui Xu. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2020. 1 online resource (22 pages) IMF Working Papers <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students In this paper we analyze the dynamics among past major pandemics, economic growth, inequality, and social unrest. We provide evidence that past major pandemics, even though much smaller in scale than COVID-19, have led to a significant increase in social unrest by reducing output and increasing inequality. We also find that higher social unrest, in turn, is associated with lower ourput and higher inequality, pointing to a vicious cycle. Our results suggest that without policy measures, the COVID-19 pandemic will likely increase inequality, trigger social unrest, and lower future output in the years to come. Mode of access: Internet Xu, Rui. IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2020/216 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/2020/216/001.2020.issue-216-en.xml IMF e-Library