Modelling the economic impact of COVID19 under different policy choices: Mitigation versus suppression when time is a scarce resource

Abstract

Keogh-Brown et al.(2020) illustrate the application of economic modelling to inform and guide policy making during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK. The methodology is based on linking a general equilibrium economic model to a simple epidemiological model of the infection. In this commentary a number of issues are discussed relating to the construction and application of the model, and the implications of the findings for government policies.