RAND Europe Focus on COVID-19

Coronavirus COVID-19 concept image, photo by Feydzhet Shabanov/Adobe Stock

The COVID-19 crisis has been all consuming in its disruptive effect on people’s lives, leading to widespread uncertainty over how much longer the situation may last and what the future might hold.

To help understand the wider impacts of this global crisis, RAND Europe researchers have been offering their expert opinion on how the disease could affect different sectors such as health, defence, infrastructure, education and more. Our analysts are also exploring new areas of research that could be crucial in helping us prepare for what lies ahead.

Current research

Project
Evaluating the progress and impacts of the COG-UK consortium
15 Feb 2022

An evaluation of the COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) consortium finds that it has made a significant and valuable contribution to the UK's public health genomics landscape, but its legacy will depend on decision makers' abilities to maintain momentum, ensure adequate governance, and other factors.
Project
Examining COVID-19 and intimate partner violence
08 Mar 2021

Researchers identified 27 practices that—to varying degrees—have ensured the continuity, accessibility and sustainability of support to women victims during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Research Brief
The economic benefits of equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines
17 Dec 2020

While the COVID-19 outbreak is foremost a public health crisis, it has also caused substantial damage to the global economy. National governments are spending trillions of dollars to fight the negative economic impact in their own countries, but until vaccines are widely available in every country, the economic burden will continue to be felt worldwide.
Report
How Is COVID-19 Changing Online Shopping Habits?
10 Nov 2020

Americans' online shopping habits have continued to shift during the pandemic. By August 2020, more people were shopping online, and 39 percent reported spending more money on their purchases. People who spent less were likely to have lost employment.
Project
COVID-19 and the cost of vaccine nationalism
28 Oct 2020

Without a vaccine, the worldwide economic impact of COVID-19 could be $3.4 trillion a year. But even when a vaccine is available, an unequal allocation of COVID-19 vaccines could cost the global economy up to $1.2 trillion a year in GDP.
Report
Online Shopping: Many Americans' Habits Haven't Changed During COVID-19
07 Jul 2020

Almost two-thirds of Americans haven't changed their online shopping habits since the pandemic began. About one-quarter are shopping online more, but 13 percent are actually shopping online less.
Project
How Middle Eastern SMEs are coping with COVID-19
06 Jul 2020

A survey of small and medium-sized enterprises in the Middle East and Turkey, targeted particularly at businesses owned by migrants, women and young people, sought to understand the impact of COVID-19 on their work and what can be done to support them during the pandemic.
Journal Article
From COVID-19 Research to Vaccine Application
09 Jun 2020

Moving from vaccine discovery research to developed products, policies and practice often takes years, not months. Monitoring the development of a COVID-19 vaccine may help to identify which of the approaches speeding development and deployment could be usefully applied more widely in the future.
Commentary
How to best enable pharma innovation beyond the COVID-19 crisis
26 May 2020

Innovating in response to public health challenges like COVID-19 does not always align well with pharmaceutical industry commercial models or shareholder expectations. More sustainable and scalable ways of incentivising innovation in response to infectious disease threats are needed.