The Graduate School USA’s Economic Monitoring and Analysis Program (EconMAP), with funding support from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of Insular Affairs and the Asian Development Bank, has published a new Technical Note, The Road to Recovery: Further Updating the Economic Impact of COVID-19 and Strategies for Mitigation in the Republic of Palau.

In response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, this publication examines the policies implemented by the Republic of Palau, the implementation of its nationwide immunization program, and the national desire to reopen borders and commence with economic recovery without a severe threat to the population and the national health system.

Specifically, this publication:

• reviews the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on the economy of Palau in FY20;
• analyzes the various mitigation programs initiated by Palau, together with their impact on household incomes with a gender analysis;
• projects the economic outturn in FY21, when the full impact of the pandemic is realized from the outset, and over the medium-term as economic recovery begins following the implementation of the COVID-19 vaccination program;
• discusses financing needs and the impact of the pandemic on external debt and debt service;
• examines two scenarios: (i) the impact of opening a sealed corridor with Taiwan, and (ii) impact of the termination of the unemployment benefits under CROSS act;
• explores policy options that the administration might wish to pursue to reduce costs and thereby reduce the debt burden on future generations.

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The Road to Recovery: Further Updating the Economic Impact of COVID-19 and Strategies for Mitigation in the Republic of Palau

February 26, 2021

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