“It’s a self-inflicted wound, and they have no economic gains.” The results of Sweden’s experience are relevant well beyond Scandinavian shores. In Britain, prime minister Boris Johnson – previously hospitalised with Covid-19 – reopened pubs and restaurants last weekend in a bid to restore normal economic life. File photograph: Getty ImagesBut Sweden’s grim result – more death and nearly equal economic damage – suggests that the supposed choice between lives and paychecks is a false one: A failure to impose social distancing can cost lives and jobs at the same time. Here is one takeaway with potentially universal import: It is simplistic to portray government actions such as quarantines as the cause of economic damage. Sweden’s laissez faire approach does appear to have minimised the economic damage compared with its neighbours in the first three months of the year, according to an assessment by the International Monetary Fund.

Source: The Irish Times July 09, 2020 09:32 UTC