Tag: cost-benefit analysis

Should teachers be prioritised for the Covid vaccine?

It’s clearly important to keep an open mind on whether educational professionals should be prioritised for the Covid vaccines, just as with other aspects of the rollout plan (such as the timing of the second jab). But for now, I’d argue against. Here's why... First, the evidence. In general, teachers have ‘slightly lower’ degrees of … Continue reading Should teachers be prioritised for the Covid vaccine? →

Lockdowns fail the cost-benefit test

The Spectator has published a SAGE paper outlining a ‘reasonable worst case’ scenario leading to an additional 85,000 Covid deaths in the UK, even with some partial mitigation. It’s hard to know what to make of this figure without a better understanding of what would happen if the government did nothing. (The paper assumed that … Continue reading Lockdowns fail the cost-benefit test →

Is it worth it? a brief PS…

Since responding to Toby Young's article here I've come across a few interesting US papers on the economics of pandemics. These studies (which have also been picked up elsewhere) support the view that the coronavirus lockdown is indeed 'worth it'... First, a cost-benefit analysis of social distancing for the US, which suggests that the benefits … Continue reading Is it worth it? a brief PS… →