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Fredrik NG Andersson. Photo.

Fredrik N G Andersson

Associate professor

Fredrik NG Andersson. Photo.

The Covid-19 lesson from Sweden: Don't lock down

Author

  • Fredrik N G Andersson
  • Lars Jonung

Summary, in English

Covid-19 triggered a wave of lockdowns across the world, contributing to a severe downturn in economic activity. Governments responded by introducing expansionary fiscal and monetary measures. We compare the health and economic outcomes in Sweden, commonly viewed as an outlier relying more on recommendations and voluntary adjustments than on strict lockdowns, with those of comparable European OECD countries. Our results suggest that the Swedish policy of advice and trust in the population to reduce social interactions voluntarily was relatively successful. Sweden combined low excess death rates with relatively small economic costs. In future pandemics, policymakers should rely on empirical evidence rather than panicking and adopting extreme measures. Even if policymakers appeared to act rapidly and decisively, the rushed implementation of strict lockdowns in 2020/21 probably did more harm than good.

Department/s

  • Department of Economics
  • LU Profile Area: Nature-based future solutions

Publishing year

2024-02-12

Language

English

Pages

3-16

Publication/Series

Economic Affairs

Volume

44

Issue

1

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Wiley-Blackwell

Topic

  • Business Administration

Keywords

  • covid19
  • pandemic
  • econmic crisis
  • excess mortality
  • fiscal policy
  • lockdowns
  • monetary policy
  • public debt

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1468-0270