Is the problem for countries today on the supply or the demand side?

After the worst of the COVID crisis, countries (we look at the situations of the United States, the euro zone and China) may be faced with: A supply-side problem: public health regulations, restrictions due to COVID, hiring difficulties and weak investment due to the deterioration in the financial situation of companies reduce production; A demand-side problem: precautionary savings and the rise in unemployment reduce consumption; companies’ financial problems reduce investment; global trade is weakened. Among different regions (countries), we look to determine where the problem is primarily on the supply side and where it is primarily on the demand side. To this end, we examine production, household consumption, investment, foreign trade and capacity utilisation. We find: Both supply- and demand-side problems in the United States and the euro zone; Primarily a demand-side problem in China .