Deck 1: Introduction to Pandemic Economics

Question 1

For the field of pandemic economics, why is it important to include empirical applications from both economics and epidemiology?

Answer 1

Pandemic economics emerged as the study of pandemics from an economic perspective. The field of economics analyzes society's material wants under the condition of scarcity. To determine policy effects, a cost/benefit analysis balances the economic costs with the health benefits. During a pandemic, public sectors allocate resources to support public health. Pandemics create both economic costs and health consequences. Therefore, in addition to the empirical research of economists, the field of pandemic economies includes empirical research from epidemiology. Epidemiology is the study of health that addresses the incident distribution and control of diseases. The type of data gathered by epidemiologists includes genetic strains, mutations, infectiousness, antibody tests, treatments, and the prevention of future outbreaks.

Question 2

How might cost-benefit analysis weigh the benefit of slowing the spread of disease against the cost of economic shutdown?

Answer 2

Economists should do the cost-benefit analysis to weigh the benefit of slowing the spread of disease against the cost of economic shutdown. A policy to contain the virus by reducing economic activity would slow the progression of the virus and reduce the death rate, but it would also impose a greater economic cost. Putting some numbers on the economic costs of a monthlong or a yearlong shutdown against the lives saved would help create an adequate response to the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, we need to determine how much a life is worth. Government agencies calculate these trade-offs regularly. The Environmental Protection Agency, for instance, has established a cost of about $9.5 million per life saved as a benchmark for determining whether to clean up a toxic waste site. We also need to consider the impact of policies on jobs, food, and money to pay the bills. As Dr. Kip Viscusi, an economist at Vanderbilt University, pointed out in the New York Times (2020), "making people poorer has health consequences as well. Jobless people sometimes commit suicide. The poor are likelier to die if they get sick." Dr. Viscusi estimates that across the population, every loss of income of $100 million in the economy causes one additional death.
New York Times. 2020. Shutdown Spotlights Economic Cost of Saving Lives. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/24/business/economy/coronavirus-economy.html, January 21, 2021.

Question 3

What are the economic and public health implications of the rise of zoonoses?

Answer 3

Although ancient, zoonoses increased during the twentieth century. Zoonotic pathogens-bacteria, viruses, and micro-organisms that cause diseases-move between humans and animals when ecosystem reconfiguration (intensive agriculture, deforestation, and mining) increases the likelihood of transmission. Despite the existence of anti-poaching laws, the hunting of wild animals is common. If rural households have an insufficient supply of food, they may hunt wild animals.

Question 4

Is "black elephant" an apt metaphor for Covid-19? Why or why not?

Question 5

What do the first three plague pandemics reveal about the contemporary disease landscape? For reference, refer to Frank Snowden's (2019) book, Epidemics and Society.

Question 6

To re-open an economy, why is it necessary to control the disease?

Question 7

How does a pandemic impede the process of globalization?

Question 8

In what sense is saving the economy or saving lives a false choice?

Question 9

If it is simplistic to portray government intervention as the cause of economic damage during a pandemic, what are the causes of economic damage during a pandemic?

Question 10

In response to a pandemic, should businesses, schools, and markets reorganize? If so, how?