Danielle Goldfarb’s Post

Now that China's zero COVID policy is essentially over and the winter starting, COVID cases are spiking. How bad will things get? How significant an economic slowdown are we talking about? It's hard to get a true read since the testing data are both lagged and unreliable, plus China typically underreports cases. To fill this data gap, at RIWI we're planning to add a new high-frequency data series that measures: a) how the COVID case count is changing and b) how citizens are reacting in terms of both their health and economic decisions. We get these data on a daily basis from respondents throughout all parts of the country who know best what is happening to them and around them. We're already tracking a range of daily indicators in China including: - discretionary spending (are people willing to shop or are they still afraid to go out?) - consumer confidence - optimism about their financial future - views on zero COVID relaxation v status quo We plan to add: - questions on COVID symptoms amongst close friends/ family - how people plan to act if they have symptoms (will they go to hospital and if so, when?) - how people plan to act in terms of their work and spending decisions (will they take transit? will they go out and spend at stores?) What would you add / change / value? Please comment or DM me. And please reach out if you would like to shape / add questions and / or access the real-time data. #zerocovid #chinaeconomy #globaleconomy