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Epidemic Control and Resource Allocation: Approaches and Implications for the Management of COVID-19

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  • Linus Nyiwul

Abstract

The experience with COVID-19 underscores a classic public policy choice problem: how should policymakers determine how to allocate constrained budgets, limited equipment, under-resourced hospitals and stretched personnel to limit the spread of the virus. This article presents an overview of the general literature on resource allocation in epidemics and assess how it informs our understanding of COVID-19. We highlight the peculiarities of the pandemic that call for a rethinking of existing approaches to resource allocation. In particular, we analyse how the experience of COVID-19 informs our understanding and modelling of the optimal resource allocation problem in epidemics. Our delineation of the literature focuses on resource constraint as the key variable. A qualitative appraisal indicates that the current suit of models for understanding the resource allocation problem requires adaptations to advance our management of COVID-19 or similar future epidemics. Particularly under-studied areas include issues of uncertainty, potential for co-epidemics, the role of global connectivity, and resource constrained problems arising from depressed economic activity. Incorporating various global dimensions of COVID-19 into resource allocation modelling such a centralized versus decentralized resource control and the role of geostrategic interests could yield crucial insights. This will require multi-disciplinary approaches to the resource allocation problem. JEL Classifications: I14, I18, E61, D60, H4, H12

Suggested Citation

  • Linus Nyiwul, 2021. "Epidemic Control and Resource Allocation: Approaches and Implications for the Management of COVID-19," Studies in Microeconomics, , vol. 9(2), pages 283-305, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:sae:miceco:v:9:y:2021:i:2:p:283-305
    DOI: 10.1177/23210222211053751
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19 pandemic; health economics; epidemiology; heuristics; optimization; resource allocation;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I14 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Inequality
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • E61 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Macroeconomic Policy, Macroeconomic Aspects of Public Finance, and General Outlook - - - Policy Objectives; Policy Designs and Consistency; Policy Coordination
    • D60 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - General
    • H4 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods
    • H12 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Crisis Management

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