Lecture Videos

Readings & Resources

1. Planet Money Podcast, April 15th, 2020: "Lives vs. the Economy"

2. Marketplace, April 23 2020: "Economists are measuring the cost effectiveness of coronavirus lockdowns"

3. The University of Chicago Booth School of Business – Initiative on Global Markets (IGM) Economic Experts Panel:

a. Survey on policy response to COVID

b. Survey on inequality and COVID

4. Optional: The Daily Podcast from the New York Times, April 6, 2020: "A Historic Unemployment Crisis"

Discussion Questions

1. How could we apply a statistical value of human life to international aid decisions? For reference the estimated cost of saving one person from dying of malaria is about $4,000.

2. Do you think that there is a point where the cure will be worse than the disease, and we’ll need to reopen, even if it does mean more deaths from COVID 19?

3. Should local/state governments be responsible for providing relief, or is this primarily the role of the federal government? What kinds of needs, and what kind of responses, have you observed in your local area?

Additional Resources

The Ezra Klein Show podcast, March 25, 2020; "Is the cure worse than the disease?"