IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON HUMAN HEALTH AND ECONOMY: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY BASED ON THREAT PERCEPTION VARIANCE AMONG SEVERAL DEMOGRAPHIC GROUPS IN INDIA

Abstract

The entire world is passing through great uncertainty due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are, primarily, two major visible threats that the world is facing at this juncture. One is on the health of the masses and other one is on the economy. In Indian context majority of the socio-economic activities are under complete and partial lockdown for several months, since March 25, 2020 and restrictions has been eased in phased manner. This has affected the lives of almost all, especially the poor and marginalized population, agricultural labourers, and the informal sector workforce. India needs to be more proactive and planned when it comes to countering the social and economic effects of any pandemic in future. In this context, it is of equal importance to observe the threat perception prevailing among people belonging to different demographic groups. Threat perception is a serious aftershock of any pandemic that restricts general public in returning to their normal socioeconomic life. It has huge socio-economic back fall. Under this study, the researchers have used survey method to collect primary data on the threat perception of people coming from different demographic groups. The study focus to identify whether there is any variation in threat perception of people regarding COVID-19 pandemic with reference to several demographic groups. To analyze the variation among different demographic groups Kruskal-Wallis Test, popularly known as the H-Test, is used. Henceforth, Post- Hoc Test is also performed to identify the significant differences in threat perception among different pair of sub groups, where demographic factors significantly impact threat perception. The researchers have also conducted Ordinal Logistic Regression to identify the level of variation in dependent variable, explained by independent variables. The variation in threat perception among peoples regarding this disease will definitely have huge impact on their socio-economic lifestyles. The research shows mixed results. The researchers have also suggested some recommendations based on the results of the study to control or rather to bridge up threat perceptional variations regarding COVID-19 for protecting socio-economic backbone of the country. KEYWORDS: Covid-19, Kruskal-Wallis Test, Lockdown, Ordinal Logistic Regression, Pandemic, Post- Hoc Test, Threat perception.