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Paper short abstract

A review of 37 studies shows that polycrisis impacts are uneven; public spending is unequal; recovery efforts are inequitable; resulting in socio-spatial disparities; and cross-border coordination remains weak. It calls for transscalar, longitudinal research using standardized indicators.

Paper long abstract

While not a novel idea, the term “polycrisis” gained prominence recently, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Polycrisis refers to interconnected crises that reinforce each other and are more challenging than isolated crises. This review synthesizes literature to inform future research, applied decision-making, and policy responses across four main themes: public spending, recovery efforts, socio-spatial patterns, and inter-regional relations. It provides a summary of what has been researched, how it was conducted, the gaps that remain, and introduces indicators to address polycrisis challenges. Following PRISMA guidelines, the initial search of three academic databases identified 197 journal articles, of which the final review retrieved 37 full-texts that met the inclusion criteria after screening.

Results show that the effects of polycrisis are built into the system and vary by location, with rural and informal areas experiencing slower or unfair recovery, while diversified economies recover faster. Public spending responses are unequal and weakly tracked, making it difficult to assess whether resources reach the most vulnerable areas. Therefore, crisis response exacerbates socio-spatial inequality. Local and regional institutions struggle to adapt quickly to changing circumstances and lack collaborative abilities to engage in shared tasks. Furthermore, practical cross-border mechanisms remain weak and under-researched.

The review identifies gaps where future research is urgent, including mixed approaches on multi-layered crisis interactions and transcalar spillovers, mapping spatial inequality and community participation in informal settlements, and using longitudinal, spatially disaggregated datasets. To address these gaps, the review proposes a preliminary set of indicators to research multiscalar polycrisis management.