Page 21 - 2022 Abstract Book RUICHSS_2022_11_17 after conference

University of Ruhuna ISSN: 2706-0063
Matara, Sri Lanka

of 0.58% and 0.41% pre-COVID-19 and 0.73% and 0.23% during-COVID-19,
respectively.

There are several takeaways from these findings. Firstly, these findings
suggest that COVID-19 caused a change in the risk behavior of oil and cocoa prices,
placing them in a state of distress. Secondly, the intensity of the risk spillover for gas
dramatically rose from 0.58 to 0.73. In addition, the severity of the risk spillover
associated with corn increased from 0.41 to 1.66. Similarly, the prices of several
commodities were impacted by the gas risk spillover that occurred throughout this
period. This was a trend that continued throughout the entire year. Thirdly, the risk
spillover in commodities between corn and cocoa was significantly high at the
beginning of 2020 but gradually declined as the year progressed. This indicates the
gradual adjustment to food and supply chain issues that the economies faced at the
beginning of the pandemic, causing the steep rise of risk spillover in the commodity
market and the total connectedness amongst these markets.

This analysis clearly shows that the price volatility of the commodity market
was very high and affected people's consumption and economies overall. Though Sri
Lanka's influence on the global market is minimal, global prices influence a lot when
the country struggles with foreign reserves.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought out changes in how people live, how
companies do their business, and how governments can move forward with digital
transformations to serve their citizens effectively. Consumers, companies, and
governments have moved toward online services during the pandemic. These rapid
digital transformations of interacting with customers or providing efficient
government services online are some positives of the pandemic. The COVID-19
outbreak has also caused disruptions in most education systems, impacting in-person
learning due to lockdowns and the closure of educational institutions. However, the
pandemic pushed key stakeholders to transform from the existing in-person education
to online or hybrid education, providing more digital services for students. As the
pandemic has been boosting progress in digital access to services and how people can
interact via online facilities, it is time for governments to consider extending digital
transformations into every sector as a preparation for the development of the economy
in the post-COVID era. Nevertheless, managing public and private resources
efficiently and effectively in the new digital age and adopting sustainable
development goals as a policy is a way to a better future in the post-COVID era.

xx