Sustainable economy in light of COVID-19

Two years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy has adapted to the new market conditions that coexist with this global phenomenon. The beginning of the pandemic was marked by a significant decline in global markets: restrictions on transportation and logistics, industry decline and, worst of all, a huge number of global deaths resulted in plummeting economic circumstances. However, in the last year, there has been marked recovery in social and economic trends. The United Nations (UN) announced a 2030 sustainable chain development agenda, with the aim to address the challenges posed by the pandemic. It can be argued that, in the last year, the economy has stabilized to the COVID-19 pandemic, with national leaders emphasizing victory over this crisis and attempting to return the world to normal. If one searches Publons (Web of Science) for COVID-19 related publications, the browser will open more than 89,728 results (as of 5 April 2022). Nature.com declares that, in 2020, about 4% of the world’s study output was dedicated to COVID-19 related publications, with more than 200,000 works being published in the first year of the pandemic [1]. This Special Issue, “The Influence of COVID-19 on Sustainable Economy”, actively contributes to the scientific community by publishing studies that analyze this issue. Most of the published papers are dedicated to issues surrounding financial markets and sustainable economy under the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic. All published studies contain an analysis of quantitative data, reflecting real cases which have been methodologically analyzed. The results of these works focus on the development of a post-COVID-19 era, opening a window of chance for sustainable economic transition. Numerous new business processes have been created and the economy has become digitalized, creating new opportunities for sustainable development. Thus, although the COVID-19 crisis completely upended life as we knew it, we are now faced with [2] a world of new investment opportunities. A post-COVID-19 era, with the advent of new financial technologies, could generate sustainable markets, as well as new infrastructures, products and services, increasing the efficiency of business and improving market competition