What lessons can economists learn from how a virus spreads, and what pitfalls should they avoid? Our guest, the distinguished economist Paul Ormerod, suggests that the macro-modellers of the Covid-19 virus might have missed a trick; put simply, they didn’t properly take into account the fact that people faced with a situation – any situation – are highly likely to change their behaviour as a result. 

And if economics is all about human behaviour, should economists have been as closely involved as epidemiologists in modelling the approach to managing the virus back in March?