Government Financial Resilience during Pandemics: the case of West Africa

Abstract Purpose - The paper examines financial resilience responses/capacities of governments from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Ghana in relation to COVID-19. It highlights the governments' fiscal, budgetary, and actions as either anticipatory or coping mechanisms towards the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach – multiple case studies and secondary data were used, including: official government documentation/records, expert views, policy publications by supranational organisations and international financial institutions, and media reports. Textual analysis was conducted to evaluate the case countries' resilience. Findings – The paper highlights how governmental budgetary initiatives, including repurposing the manufacturing sector, can sustain businesses, aid social interventions and reduce vulnerability during health crises. In addition, the paper highlights that external borrowing continues to be indispensable in the financial and budgetary initiatives of the case countries. The paper finds that lessons learnt from the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in West Africa within the last decade have shaped the anticipatory resilience capacities of the case countries against COVID-19. Originality/value - The paper uses the notion of resilience, the dimensions of the resilience framework and the resource-based view theory (RBV) to unearth resilience patterns. This sort of combined approach is new to financial resilience studies. Key words: COVID-19; Ebola; financial resilience; financial shocks; Ghana; Liberia; Sierra Leone