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Pandemic preparation without romance: insights from public choice

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  • Alex Tabarrok

    (George Mason University)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic, despite its unprecedented scale, mirrored previous disasters in its predictable missteps in preparedness and response. Rather than blaming individual actors or assuming better leadership would have prevented disaster, I examine how standard political incentives—myopic voters, bureaucratic gridlock, and fear of blame—predictably produced an inadequate pandemic response. The analysis rejects romantic calls for institutional reform and instead proposes pragmatic solutions that work within existing political constraints: wastewater surveillance, prediction markets, pre-developed vaccine libraries, human challenge trials, a dedicated Pandemic Trust Fund, and temporary public–private partnerships. These mechanisms respect political realities while creating systems that can ameliorate future pandemics, potentially saving millions of lives and trillions in economic damage.

Suggested Citation

  • Alex Tabarrok, 2025. "Pandemic preparation without romance: insights from public choice," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 204(3), pages 261-285, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:pubcho:v:204:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s11127-025-01277-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s11127-025-01277-2
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