a column by Emanuel Ornelas (Sao Paulo School of Economics-FGV) for VOX: CEPR’s Policy Portal
Countries worldwide are implementing lockdown measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Very soon, the question will be how to lift the lockdowns while keeping the epidemic in check.
This column uses basic economic principles to shed light on the key trade-offs.
A central message is that there is no ‘health versus economics’ dichotomy. Rather, some degree of lockdown is typically optimal in a crisis like this, balancing economic costs against health benefits. Moreover, the optimal level of lockdown is dynamic, changing over time and eventually becoming more lenient.
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Labels:
COVID-19, coronavirus, lockdown, containment,
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