At the start of the crisis, thinking by economists on the impact of the lockdown went something like this: by locking down our economies to help preserve our capacity-limited health system, we are trading off the health of our economy against the health of our people.   Perhaps the best exponent of this view was UC Berkeley economist Pierre-Olivier Gourichas, who argued that “in the short run, flattening the infection curve inevitably steepens the macroeconomic recession curve”. Dozens of studies tried to quantify the extent of this tradeoff at a national level using the best data available in each country.  The…

Want to continue reading?

Join today with an Annual membership and get full access to The Currency for just €200 (68c per day) or try monthly membership for just €5 for your first month.

Subscribe

Cancel at any time.

Are you already a member? .