IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/joecth/v77y2024i1d10.1007_s00199-023-01493-1.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

A simple planning problem for COVID-19 lockdown: a dynamic programming approach

Author

Listed:
  • Alessandro Calvia

    (LUISS University)

  • Fausto Gozzi

    (LUISS University)

  • Francesco Lippi

    (LUISS University
    Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance)

  • Giovanni Zanco

    (Università di Siena)

Abstract

A large number of recent studies consider a compartmental SIR model to study optimal control policies aimed at containing the diffusion of COVID-19 while minimizing the economic costs of preventive measures. Such problems are non-convex and standard results need not to hold. We use a Dynamic Programming approach and prove some continuity properties of the value function of the associated optimization problem. We study the corresponding Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman equation and show that the value function solves it in the viscosity sense. Finally, we discuss some optimality conditions. Our paper represents a first contribution towards a complete analysis of non-convex dynamic optimization problems, within a Dynamic Programming approach.

Suggested Citation

  • Alessandro Calvia & Fausto Gozzi & Francesco Lippi & Giovanni Zanco, 2024. "A simple planning problem for COVID-19 lockdown: a dynamic programming approach," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 77(1), pages 169-196, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:joecth:v:77:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s00199-023-01493-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s00199-023-01493-1
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00199-023-01493-1
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00199-023-01493-1?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Giorgio Fabbri & Salvatore Federico & Davide Fiaschi & Fausto Gozzi, 2024. "Mobility decisions, economic dynamics and epidemic," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 77(1), pages 495-531, February.
    2. Stefan Pollinger, 2023. "Optimal Contact Tracing and Social Distancing Policies to Suppress A New Infectious Disease," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 133(654), pages 2483-2503.
    3. Christian Gollier, 2020. "Cost–benefit analysis of age‐specific deconfinement strategies," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 22(6), pages 1746-1771, December.
    4. Facundo Piguillem & Liyan Shi, 2022. "Optimal Covid-19 Quarantine and Testing Policies," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(647), pages 2534-2562.
    5. Martin S Eichenbaum & Sergio Rebelo & Mathias Trabandt, 2021. "The Macroeconomics of Epidemics [Economic activity and the spread of viral diseases: Evidence from high frequency data]," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 34(11), pages 5149-5187.
    6. Daron Acemoglu & Victor Chernozhukov & Iván Werning & Michael D. Whinston, 2021. "Optimal Targeted Lockdowns in a Multigroup SIR Model," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 3(4), pages 487-502, December.
    7. Fernando Alvarez & David Argente & Francesco Lippi, 2021. "A Simple Planning Problem for COVID-19 Lock-down, Testing, and Tracing," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 3(3), pages 367-382, September.
    8. Bambi, Mauro & Gozzi, Fausto, 2020. "Internal habits formation and optimality," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 165-172.
    9. Goenka, Aditya & Liu, Lin & Nguyen, Manh-Hung, 2014. "Infectious diseases and economic growth," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 34-53.
    10. Freni, Giuseppe & Gozzi, Fausto & Pignotti, Cristina, 2008. "Optimal strategies in linear multisector models: Value function and optimality conditions," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 44(1), pages 55-86, January.
    11. Aditya Goenka & Lin Liu, 2020. "Infectious diseases, human capital and economic growth," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 70(1), pages 1-47, July.
    12. Callum Jones & Thomas Philippon & Venky Venkateswaran, 2021. "Optimal Mitigation Policies in a Pandemic: Social Distancing and Working from Home [A simple planning problem for covid-19 lockdown]," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 34(11), pages 5188-5223.
    13. Fabbri, Giorgio & Gozzi, Fausto & Zanco, Giovanni, 2021. "Verification results for age-structured models of economic–epidemics dynamics," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    14. Daron Acemoglu & Ali Makhdoumi & Azarakhsh Malekian & Asuman Ozdaglar, 2024. "Testing, Voluntary Social Distancing, and the Spread of an Infection," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 72(2), pages 533-548, March.
    15. Giuseppe Freni & Fausto Gozzi & Neri Salvadori, 2006. "Existence of optimal strategies in linear multisector models," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 29(1), pages 25-48, September.
    16. Aspri, Andrea & Beretta, Elena & Gandolfi, Alberto & Wasmer, Etienne, 2021. "Mortality containment vs. Economics Opening: Optimal policies in a SEIARD model," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    17. Federico, Salvatore & Ferrari, Giorgio, 2021. "Taming the spread of an epidemic by lockdown policies," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    18. Farboodi, Maryam & Jarosch, Gregor & Shimer, Robert, 2021. "Internal and external effects of social distancing in a pandemic," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Alessandro Ramponi & Maria Elisabetta Tessitore, 2024. "Optimal Social and Vaccination Control in the SVIR Epidemic Model," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-17, March.
    2. Raouf Boucekkine & Ted Loch-Temzelides, 2024. "Introduction to the special issue on mathematical economic epidemiology models," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 77(1), pages 1-7, February.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Fabien Prieur & Weihua Ruan & Benteng Zou, 2024. "Optimal lockdown and vaccination policies to contain the spread of a mutating infectious disease," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 77(1), pages 75-126, February.
    2. Boucekkine, Raouf & Chakraborty, Shankha & Goenka, Aditya & Liu, Lin, 2024. "Economic epidemiological modelling: A progress report," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    3. Francesco Flaviano Russo, 2023. "Epidemics and policy: the dismal trade-offs," Economia Politica: Journal of Analytical and Institutional Economics, Springer;Fondazione Edison, vol. 40(2), pages 561-588, July.
    4. Wen-Tai Hsu & Hsuan-Chih (Luke) Lin & Han Yang, 2024. "Long-run belief-scarring effects of COVID-19 in a global economy," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 78(3), pages 709-752, November.
    5. Raouf Boucekkine & Shankha Chakraborty & Aditya Goenka & Lin Liu, 2024. "A Brief Tour of Economic Epidemiology Modelling," LIDAM Discussion Papers IRES 2024002, Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de Recherches Economiques et Sociales (IRES).
    6. Bouveret, Géraldine & Mandel, Antoine, 2021. "Social interactions and the prophylaxis of SI epidemics on networks," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    7. Giorgio Fabbri & Salvatore Federico & Davide Fiaschi & Fausto Gozzi, 2024. "Mobility decisions, economic dynamics and epidemic," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 77(1), pages 495-531, February.
    8. Çakmaklı, Cem & Demiralp, Selva & Özcan, Şebnem Kalemli & Yeşiltaş, Sevcan & Yıldırım, Muhammed A., 2023. "COVID-19 and emerging markets: A SIR model, demand shocks and capital flows," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    9. Sewon Hur, 2023. "The Distributional Effects Of Covid‐19 And Optimal Mitigation Policies," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 64(1), pages 261-294, February.
    10. Guimarães, Luís, 2021. "Antibody tests: They are more important than we thought," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    11. Goodkin-Gold, Matthew & Kremer, Michael & Snyder, Christopher M. & Williams, Heidi, 2022. "Optimal vaccine subsidies for endemic diseases," International Journal of Industrial Organization, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    12. Hausmann, Ricardo & Schetter, Ulrich, 2022. "Horrible trade-offs in a pandemic: Poverty, fiscal space, policy, and welfare," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    13. Natali Hritonenko & Yuri Yatsenko, 2024. "Analysis of optimal lockdown in integral economic–epidemic model," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 77(1), pages 235-259, February.
    14. Hsu, Wen-Tai & Lin, Hsuan-Chih (Luke) & Yang, Han, 2023. "Between lives and economy: COVID-19 containment policy in open economies," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    15. Daria Ghilli & Cristiano Ricci & Giovanni Zanco, 2024. "A mean field game model for COVID-19 with human capital accumulation," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 77(1), pages 533-560, February.
    16. Xiao Chen & Hanwei Huang & Jiandong Ju & Ruoyan Sun & Jialiang Zhang, 2022. "Endogenous cross-region human mobility and pandemics," CEP Discussion Papers dp1860, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    17. Gopal K. Basak & Chandramauli Chakraborty & Pranab Kumar Das, 2021. "Optimal Lockdown Strategy in a Pandemic: An Exploratory Analysis for Covid-19," Papers 2109.02512, arXiv.org.
    18. Bisin, Alberto & Moro, Andrea, 2022. "Spatial‐SIR with network structure and behavior: Lockdown rules and the Lucas critique," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 198(C), pages 370-388.
    19. Timo Boppart & Karl Harmenberg & John Hassler & Per Krusell & Jonna Olsson, 2020. "Integrated Epi-Econ Assessment," NBER Working Papers 28282, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Dizioli, Allan & Pinheiro, Roberto, 2021. "Information and inequality in the time of a pandemic," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Controlled SIRD model; Optimal lockdown policies; Optimal control with state space constraints; Optimality conditions; Viscosity solutions;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C61 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Optimization Techniques; Programming Models; Dynamic Analysis
    • E23 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Production
    • I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Behavior
    • I15 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health and Economic Development
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:joecth:v:77:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1007_s00199-023-01493-1. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.