Aiming for zero Covid-19 to ensure economic growth by Philippe Aghion, Patrick Artus, Miquel Oliu-Barton, Bary Pradelski published by VOXEU (3/2021)
With the pandemic continuing now for over a year, it has become clear that there is no trade-off between health and wealth. Successful pandemic management has relied on aiming for and protecting Covid-free green zones. This column argues that by choosing a swift elimination strategy, several countries around the world have gained control over the virus. They did this by minimising fatalities and uncertainty, and are now already rebuilding their economies. By contrast, most European countries have followed a stop-and-go logic that turned out to be more restrictive, more dangerous, and more damaging to the economy.
