We have a lot to learn from the COVID pandemic. From our success in rapidly generating vaccines, to our failure to implement a widespread test-and-trace system, to Americans’ responses to lockdown orders and other public health measures, the policy debates over the past year and a half have involved trade-offs, thinking on the margin, and accounting for many measures of public well-being. In other words, understanding the COVID pandemic necessitates an understanding of economics. That’s why I’m excited to have Ryan Bourne on the podcast today to discuss his new book, Economics in One Virus: An Introduction to Economic Reasoning through COVID-19.

Ryan is the R. Evan Scharf Chair for the Public Understanding of Economics at the Cato Institute. Previously, he was the head of public policy at the Institute of Economic Affairs and the head of economic research at the Centre for Policy Studies.