- Home
- Publications
- An Economic Model Of Health-vs-Wealth Prioritization During COVID-19: Optimal Lockdown, Network Centrality, And Segregation
An Economic Model of Health-vs-Wealth Prioritization During COVID-19: Optimal Lockdown, Network Centrality, and Segregation
![](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/themes/niesr/assets/img/calendar-alt.png)
![](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/themes/niesr/assets/img/chain.png)
![](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/DP%20521%20social%20image-1600x900.jpg)
External Authors
![](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/themes/niesr/assets/img/user.3.png)
Pongou, R
![](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/themes/niesr/assets/img/user.3.png)
Tchuente, G
![](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/themes/niesr/assets/img/user.3.png)
Tondji, J
Related Themes
Macro-Economic Dynamics and PolicyJEL Code
E61, H12, I18, J15, D85
Paper Category Number
521
We address the problem of finding the optimal lockdown and reopening policy during a pandemic like COVID-19, for a social planner who prioritizes health over short-term wealth accumulation. Agents are connected through a fuzzy network of contacts, and the planner’s objective is to determine the policy that contains the spread of infection below a tolerable incidence level, and that maximizes the present discounted value of real income, in that order of priority. We show theoretically that the planner’s problem has a unique solution. The optimal policy depends both on the configuration of the contact network and the tolerated infection incidence. Using simulations, we apply these theoretical findings to: (i) quantify the tradeoff between the economic cost of the pandemic and the infection incidence allowed by the social planner, and show how this tradeoff depends on network configuration; (ii) understand the correlation between different measures of network centrality and individual lockdown probability, and derive implications for the optimal design of surveys on social distancing behavior and network structure; and (iii) analyze how segregation induces differential health and economic dynamics in minority and majority populations, also illustrating the crucial role of patient zero in these dynamics.
Related Blog Posts
![](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/iStock-683963174-1-1-640x640.jpg)
![](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Bank-of-England-640x640.jpg)
![](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/iStock-1130124948-640x640.jpg)
![](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Public-Debt-Sustainability-and-Fiscal-Rules-640x640.jpg)
Public Debt Sustainability and Fiscal Rules
Stephen Millard
Benjamin Caswell
05 Feb 2024
4 min read
Related Projects
Related News
![Bank of England Building and Duke of Wellington statue](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Bank-of-England-Building-640x640.png)
![Front of the Bank of England with statue of the Duke of Wellington](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Bank-of-England-Independence-640x640.png)
Letter to the Financial Times: Is Perfidious Albion About to Make a Return?
14 Jun 2024
3 min read
![](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/iStock-2013089711-1-1-640x640.jpg)
![](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Call-for-Paper-Kemar-QTQE-1200-×-1200px-1-640x640.png)
Call for Papers: Lessons From Quantitative Easing & Quantitative Tightening
09 Feb 2024
1 min read
Related Publications
![exterior photo of the Bank of England](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/iStock-1331969847-modified-09bd29cf-1fae-4789-b36a-b4d3e52f5dab-640x640.jpg)
![](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/US_debt_image-640x640.jpg)
Everything You Wanted to Know About the US Budget Deficit and Debt But Were Afraid to Ask
09 May 2024
Global Economic Outlook Box Analysis
![](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/recover_resilience_image-640x640.jpg)
To What Extent Has the Recovery and Resilience Facility Supported the EU Recovery from Covid?
09 May 2024
Global Economic Outlook Topical Feature
![](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Labour-Market-Income-640x640.png)
Related events
![Event Image](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Workshop-Imagery.png)
2024 UK General Election: The Economy and Living Standards
![Event Image](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Cycles-Structural-Changes-Markets.png)
Assessing Cycles and Structural Changes in Markets
![Event Image](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/BCF-Imagery-e1702367621405.png)
Business Conditions Forum
With an election expected to take place at some point in 2024, we begin the year by focusing this quarter’s Business Conditions Forum on the following topics: Can we expect…
![Event Image](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Dow-Lecture-2022-social-image.jpg)
2022 Dow Lecture: The Economy and Policy Trade-Off
![](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/themes/niesr/assets/img/arrow-right.png)
![](https://www.niesr.ac.uk/wp-content/themes/niesr/assets/img/arrow-right.png)