GLOBAL MANAGEMENTOF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: SUCCESS OR FAILURE?
The paper summarises the extent and incidence of the Covid-19 pandemic and evaluates government policies in different countries. The consequences of lock-down policy are discussed. The most negatively affected groups of the population are the low-skilled workers and self-employed. Psychological welfare has seriously declined and provision of health services have deteriorated. Population density, age structure and state management strongly influence the spread and containment of the disease. State coordinated economies and social-democratic countries have managed the effects of the disease better than market coordinated economies, though there are important exceptions. A failure of some governments to provide sufficient reserve capacity of healthcare facilities indicates government policy failure. The paper suggests that a more focussed policy of social isolation of people susceptible to coronavirus with less stringent lockdown measures would have significantly reduced social costs and increased public health benefits.