How much does it cost the economy when essential services are interrupted? ESRI Research Bulletin 2013/1/1

Lyons, Sean and Morgenroth, Edgar (2012) How much does it cost the economy when essential services are interrupted? ESRI Research Bulletin 2013/1/1. UNSPECIFIED.

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Abstract

While the focus of policies tends to be on improving output or employment of a sector, i.e. policies aimed at positive change, avoiding negative changes can be an important aim of policies too. For example, an unexpected disruption in sectors that supply essential services can impose high costs on the wider economy. Being essential means there are few substitutes for these services, so an outage stops other activities from taking place as planned. Typical examples of such services include water, energy and broadband services, but one might also think of sectors like food distribution, payment systems, emergency services and some transport networks. Unpredictability tends to compound the problem as this limits the options for those affected. If you know the lights are going to go out tomorrow night, you can plan around it, but if your dinner guests have arrived there is less you can do.

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