Pandemic-economics blog

Pandemic-economics blog A blog by Commission staff to generate ideas and promote debate about policy responses to COVID‑19. We welcome robust, respectful and insightful thoughts and ideas. Comments can be posted at the bottom of blog posts, but please note they are moderated and won't appear immediately.

The Fantasy section of the Te Anau bookstore

Sweden vs. New Zealand, with Taiwan in the lead

9 December 2020

Is the Covid pandemic and our collective responses to it best framed as health vs.

Is COVID-19 becoming less deadly?

15 July 2020

New COVID-19 cases are soaring in the US. I would naturally expect the number of deaths to be soarin…

COVID19 warning

What’s the risk?

19 May 2020

Eighty-four percent of New Zealanders were concerned about the chances that they or someone close to…

Re-opening the trans-Tasman border

6 May 2020

“Shut the borders” is a natural first reaction to an external threat.

A mountaineer’s guide to policy headroom

23 April 2020

Over the last few weeks’, you might have felt like the country was making its way along a ridge betw…

How are we trackin’?

22 April 2020

Let me introduce you to RPE, a “quick & dirty” estimate of the effective reproduction number of COVI…

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