Page 5 - IMDR EBOOK 20 OCT 2020

"Pandemic and Beyond: Navigating the New Normal" E - Book Year 2020

Entrepreneurial activation as a counter cyclical strategy in the aftermath of
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COVID-19

Dr. Shikha Jain Director- DES’s IMDR, Pune
Abstract :

COVID19 lockdown has stalled business activity and the economic cycle. This research
nds out the impact of the aftermath on employment opportunities. It studies the
economic fundamentals which have a spillover effect on jobs and assesses how the
situation is likely to be in the next 12 months. The research nds out whether COVID19
aftermath creates entrepreneurial opportunities and what could be a targeted
approach to drive the same. The research uses a structured questionnaire to seek
responses from the corporate that currently survive the repercussions and have
experienced uctuations in economic activity in the past.
Key Words : COVID19 aftermath, Recession, Entrepreneurship

Introduction
Cyclical uctuation in economic activity is a business “normal”. French economist
Clement Juglar (1850) rst talked about it, popularly known as Juglar Cycle. Joseph
Schumpeter (1939), later, rened it into a composite wave form, comprising of four
stages of expansion, crisis, recession and recovery. He associated the waves with
uctuation in macroeconomic aggregates such as aggregate demand, price levels,
consumer condence, interest rates, stock prices and productivity. Extensive research
subsequently carried out have found typical contractions in economic activity post
periods of high growth as corrections, due to myriad internal and exogenous factors.
Has Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdown in India triggered the cyclical
activity? Has the pandemic, akin to a natural disaster, pushed the economy into a
downward spiral? What is the impact on jobs as industry shuts down and faces an
uncertain future? Can entrepreneurship activation work as a counter cyclical strategy
for post COVID 19 economic comeback? These are the questions underlying this
research work carried out during April 7-17, 2020.
Objectives
The research aimed to gauge -

1. Industry perception about employment opportunities in current scenario and
going forward

2. Expert insights on effectiveness of entrepreneurial activation during recession
3. Targeted approach to be adopted to boost entrepreneurship
Methodology

This research is a descriptive study, carried out using a structured questionnaire,
which elicited responses from 277 respondents online, of whom 57% were working
professionals and 59% having more than 10 years of work experience. 87% of the
respondents rated themselves as reasonably well in following up day-to-day
developments in Indian economy and business.
Majority of the respondents, as shown in the graph and table in Figure 1, are working
professionals who gave valuable insights of the COVID 19 impact on industry and jobs.
Figure 1 – Respondent Employment Prole

Employment Prole Frequency
Academician 41
Entrepreneur 54
Other 18
Retired 4
Student 8
Working professional 159
Grand Total 277

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