The Economist, urban migration, and COVID-19

Franklin Obeng-Odoom

Chapter 3 in Handbook of Research on Migration, COVID-19 and Cities, 2025, pp 45-61 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Three questions are particularly important regarding urban migration and the impact of COVID-19. How did The Economist portray COVID-19 in African cities? What policies did The Economist advocate as panacea? Why should The Economist's account be contested? Very little systematic work has been done on the approach promoted by The Economist. This neglect occludes our knowledge of the free-markets approach and how it evolves in times of crises. Because The Economist produced comprehensive and consistent accounts of COVID-19, we can address these questions by analysing more than 370 articles about COVID-19. In doing so, the scope of this chapter is limited to 2020, the year during which The Economist published most of its COVID-19 works. The results show that The Economist used the crisis to set new political-economic agendas. Continuing further on The Economist's free-market path of offering private-market solutions to public health problems could exacerbate the ramifications of crises.

Keywords: Cities; Africa; COVID-19; The Economist; Political Economy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035301225
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