The coronavirus crisis has reinvigorated some old debates about the role of the state and the pros and cons of free-market capitalism. Many of the new contributions from all sides have been insightful and constructive. Some, unfortunately, have not. One of the latter is a recent piece by Thomas Fazi, ‘Could Covid-19 vanquish neoliberalism?’, published … Continue reading ‘Could Covid-19 vanquish neoliberalism?’ – a response to Thomas Fazi
What can economic history teach us about the lockdown?
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?
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?
