Recovery and Resilience Project

Beyond the immediate disruption to healthcare systems, the COVID-19 pandemic is also causing major disruptions to the regional economy and labour market. In Eastern Ontario, this shock to the $85 billion/year economy and 570,000-strong labour market is already very serious, with potential debilitating consequences for the prospect of a rapid economic recovery. The factors enabling a region to bounce back rapidly after economic or labour market shocks of this magnitude remain poorly understood. Prior work suggests that factors promoting resilience include flexible governance structures, a resilience ‘mindset’, an adaptive workforce, collaborative mechanisms, strong entrepreneurship and innovation, and so on. But prior literature examining sources of resilience in local economies also points to somewhat conflicting tendencies. While sectoral diversification appears to mitigate the impact of economic shocks, it may also erode the market leadership that could come from specialization and comparative advantage. This project aims to develop a holistic understanding of the way various characteristics of a local economy – including its workforce characteristics, governance mechanisms, ecosystems for innovation and entrepreneurship, etc. – interact to either promote or diminish the collective capacity to respond to large economic shocks.

Faculty Supervisor:

Jean-Baptiste Litrico

Student:

Partner:

Eastern Ontario Leadership Council

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Public administration

University:

Queen's University

Program: