Revisiting the Impacts of COVID-19 Government Policies and Trade Measures on Trade Flows: A Focus on RCEP Nations
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This study investigates the impacts of COVID-19 government policies and trade measures on trade flows and trade resilience in Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) nations from the first quarter of 2017 to the fourth quarter of 2022. Using panel data analysis and penalised Poisson Pseudo-Maximum Likelihood regression, the results show that COVID-19 containment and health policies implemented by RCEP and partner countries as well as income support and debt relief measures taken by RCEP nations have favourable impacts on trade flows and trade resilience for RCEP countries. However, COVID-19 stringency measures implemented by RCEP and partner countries, as well as partners’ income support and debt relief measures, had detrimental impacts on the trade flows and trade resilience of RCEP countries. RCEP trade flows were also influenced by liberalised and restricted trade measures. The implications of these findings for improving trade performance amongst RCEP nations post-COVID-19 are highlighted.
