We entered a pandemic age
In this report de Bolle et al. put forth three reasons why the current pandemic will persist for years to come:
- New variants of of SARS-CoV-2 continue to emerge requiring vaccines to be constantly updated;
- Yet vaccine roll-outs have been inefficient even in advanced economies. Vaccine nationalism prevents the world population from being vaccinated up to the level that would ensure immunity;
- Lockdown fatigue has prompted governments to relax restrictions and, with partial vaccination achieved, the likelihood that new variants will spread, increases.
Economic Policy for a Pandemic Age: How the World Must Prepare
By: Monica de Bolle, Maurice Obstfeld, Adam S. Posen – Peterson Institute
The economics of pandemic preparation
Peter A.G. van Bergeijk suggests there are three areas of economics that are relevant for pandemic preparation:
- Political economy: the organization of society is key as stringent lockdown measures don’t necessarily lead to low death rates;
- Societal cost-benefit analysis: the trade-offs between COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 suffering along many dimensions are an important topic for economists because a pandemic is, in the end, all about scarcity;
- International economics: international organizations such as WHO should ensure the provision of global public goods.
Economic preparation for the next pandemic
By: Peter A.G. van Bergeijk – Erasmus University
Securing essential goods and services
[A] strategy based on private (even if mandatory) insurance is likely insufficient, difficult to implement, and inefficient. Furthermore, in the best case, insurance hedges against the cost but does not necessarily reduce the incidence of the crisis, nor would it guarantee the physical availability of the essential goods when they are most needed. Instead, a resilience strategy should rely on public authorities securing the provision of essential goods in sufficient quantity and quality. This requires putting in place competitive mechanisms to accumulate essential goods, establishing rationing protocols, and facilitating the ramping up of production when the crisis hits.
Preparing for the next crisis: How to secure the supply of essential goods and services
Authors: Natalia Fabra, Massimo Motta, Martin Peitz
From: University Carlos III Madrid, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, University of Mannheim
