Macroeconomic effects of the Covid-19 pandemic: A cross-country comparative analysis

The Covid-19 epidemic, which emerged in Wuhan, China, and affected the whole world in a short time, was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Since the epidemic spread all over the world, it has caused negative effects in all areas of life, especially health and economy. In order to overcome the devastating effects of the pandemic in the lightest way, countries have had to take various measures. Unlike past epidemics, it can be explained as the rapid spread and global effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. Due to the restrictive effects of the epidemic, it has caused negative effects on daily life and working life. Also due to the globalization of the economy and the commercial interdependence of countries, the economic impact of the epidemic has also been global. In this study, the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the economies of Turkey, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, The United Kingdom, The United States, Japan, Korea and China were examined. Social and economic measures taken by selected countries against the Covid-19 pandemic were examined and it was tried to explain how the pandemic process was sustained. By examining the effects of the pandemic on macroeconomic variables; foreign debt, foreign trade, economic growth, inflation, its effect on the financial sector, public finance balance and its effects on production are mentioned. The current situation has been evaluated with the help of published reports and statistical data using the literature on the subject. In this context, a comparative analysis of selected countries' economies on macroeconomic variables during the pandemic process is included.