International Comparison of Crisis Management Policies: For theories of economic policies for crisis response

This paper introduces the details and characteristics of disclosures of crisis management scenarios and simulations of countries and regions based on some of the information collected in research activities for a project on constructing a new macroeconomic model and identifying the right economic policies to take in times of crisis. The paper also identifies some of the implications to Japan’s “people protection plan,” which can be obtained when viewing the plan from an economic policy perspective.

In this research project, we have collected and organized publicly disclosed crisis scenarios from Japan, East Asia (China, Taiwan, and South Korea), the United States, and Europe (the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Switzerland) on traditional security, natural disasters, and infectious disease issues. Crises and risks cover a broad spectrum from natural disasters, infectious diseases, terrorism, and military operations to more familiar issues, such as traffic accidents and crime. To construct a new model of macroeconomic policies, this research project focuses on natural disasters, infectious diseases, terrorism, and military operations that are considered to have a large macroeconomic impact, rather than risks and crises at the microeconomic level, such as traffic accidents and crime. To that end, for comparison purposes, this paper basically has a section for each region, such as East Asia, Europe, and the United States, to organize the actions each government takes in response to crises in their country and region. Also, with respect to infection diseases, an epidemic is a global issue that transcends the borders of any one country. A separate section is consequently devoted to infectious diseases to organize information globally, given that multinational cooperation and the efforts of international organizations become vital.

Also, to protect the public interest, the following implication has been obtained: An institutional response to problems such as the asymmetry of information and the uncertainty of information is necessary, as is the designing of an incentive mechanism for human resource management in a crisis.