Abstract
Introduction: Pandemics and epidemics have always been an important part of human history, affecting millions of people around the world. At an international, European and national level, huge sums of money are being spent on combating these crises in order to battle and prevent their spread.
Aim: The study of the pandemics that have struck humanity, as well as finding and identifying the extent of the social and economic impact they have had on the affected countries.
Method: A systematic review of papers published up until August 2020 was conducted. Search was performed on PubMed, Medline, Scopus, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar and the keywords used were “pandemic”, “epidemic”, “socio-economic impact” and “infectious diseases”. The criteria for inclusion in this review were the calculation by researchers of the economic and social impact of a pandemic.
Results: Only 36 of the scientific papers retrieved met the criteria for inclusion in this review. The 18 studies assessed the extent of the social impact of pandemics in the affected countries and the other 18 assessed their economic consequences in the states and in the global market.
Conclusions: Pandemics have significant socio-economic impact: mental health disorders, social isolation, stigma, restriction of human rights, travel limitations, reduction of labor in all areas of the labor market, reduction of the productive process and of the demand for consumer goods, rising inflation and unemployment, as well as health spending.
