The coronavirus pandemic is, of course, first and foremost a social crisis. It is testing the limits of the NHS, bringing out the best in our doctors, nurses and carers, and many others on whom we all rely. But it is also a huge challenge for policymakers who are trying to protect businesses, jobs and … Continue reading What can economic history teach us about the lockdown?
Category: coronavirus
Charting coronavirus – down the rabbit hole…
(Authors note: this article was written on 13th April. Obviously we've had more data since then, especially from care homes in the UK, but the main points all still apply.) I’ve been doing a bit more digging into the data on COVID-19 deaths and some of the different ways to chart the progression of the … Continue reading Charting coronavirus – down the rabbit hole…
Could the lockdown cost more lives than it saves?
The UK government’s daily coronavirus briefing on Friday drew more attention to a question that has already been troubling many people: could the wider economic and health impacts of the fight against Covid-19 actually do more harm than the virus itself? My view, for what it’s worth, is that it is right to err on … Continue reading Could the lockdown cost more lives than it saves?
No, the government still hasn’t found a ‘magic money tree’!
Who’d have thought the Treasury’s ‘Ways and Means’ facility at the Bank of England could cause so much excitement? The two parties have agreed a temporary extension of what is, in effect, the government’s overdraft account with the central bank. Cue great delight from advocates of printing money to pay for higher public spending, such … Continue reading No, the government still hasn’t found a ‘magic money tree’!
Plain-speaking Economics 