The COVID-19 impact on Ugandan supply chains: The importance of imports
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Rauschendorfer-and-Spray-2020-policy-brief.pdf
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- Ugandan firms do not operate in isolation: Supply chains depend on the quick supply of goods and services as inputs for productive activities. Crucially, Uganda sources these inputs both domestically as well as from foreign firms.
- This study first investigates the impact of COVID-19 at the outset of the pandemic on Uganda’s trade. Starting from the documented reduction of imports the study then investigates the impact of this supply-side shock on the Ugandan firm network using firm-to-firm transaction data.
- The findings demonstrate the importance of imported inputs for the smooth operation of the Ugandan economy.
- Further, a simulation of continued disruptions of imports to the degree found in the actual data suggests that such low levels of imports would lead to the closure of 6.6% of formal firms and a 4.7% reduction in formal employment.