Economic, social and political issues raised by the COVID-19 pandemic

This article contributes to the assessment of public policies to control the incidence of COVID-19 in several ways. (1) It contains a brief historical and comparative overview of selected pandemics, particularly in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic; (2) It provides a simple original model which could be used to prioritize the admission of COVID-19 sufferers to hospital (taking into account available hospital capacity) and (3) it specifies a second model to evaluate desired social choices involving the trade-off between the severity of social restrictions (taking into account their impact on the incidence of COVID-19) and the level of economic activity. Bergson-type welfare functions are utilized in the second model. It also critically examines the proposition that the isolation (lockdown) of social groups is a desirable method of limiting the incidence of COVID-19. This leads onto the consideration of the extent to which personal freedom of choice (liberty) ought to be restricted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. A brief outline follows illustrating the factors that are likely to hinder economic recovery from COVID-19. Particular attention is paid to the moral and ethical questions raised by policies to control COVID-19. These appear to have received little attention in the relevant economic literature.