When to release the lockdown? A wellbeing framework for analysing costs and benefits
Layard, Richard ; Clark, Andrew E. ; De Neve, Jan-Emmanuel ; Fancourt, Daisy ; Hey, Nancy ; O'Donnell, Gus
Institute of Labor Economics, Bonn
IZA - Bonn
2020
19 p.
epidemic disease ; well being ; psychological effects ; social impact
Discuusion Paper
13186
Social protection
http://ftp.iza.org/dp13186.pdf
English
"It is politicians who have to decide when to release the lockdown, and in what way. In doing so, they have to balance many considerations (as with any decision). Often the different considerations appear incommensurable so that only the roughest of judgements can be made. For example, in the case of COVID-19, one has to compare the economic benefits of releasing the lockdown with the social and psychological benefits, and then compare the total of these with the increase in deaths that would result from an early exit. We here propose a way of doing this more systematically."
Digital
The ETUI is co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the ETUI.