Misinterpreting Lockdown Claims

Samuel Bowman January 31, 2021

Times of London View Original Source

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Toby Young (25 Jan) writes that “lockdowns will cause more harm than they prevent.” But he cites a study that undermines his own claims. The paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research says, “Without any doubt, lockdowns save lives” and proposes that policy-makers “[combine] lockdowns with policy interventions meant to reduce economic distress”.

It looks at the effects of the pandemic as a whole and stresses that much of the economic damage has come from the virus itself. It does not support Young’s claims that the lockdown, rather than the pandemic itself, is the main cause of our economic woes.

Read the full piece here.