The COVID-19 virus and subsequent series of lockdowns had a major effect on mortality among the young and old of different countries. Whilst this may be a sensitive topic for some listeners, it is important to understand lockdowns in the case of future epidemics.

Professor Lin Ma and colleagues at the World Bank and University of Michigan investigate the impact of economic downturns following national lockdown protocols, and their link to deaths in respective countries. The researchers reveal an intergenerational mortality trade-off surrounding lockdown policy in lower- and middle-income countries. Indeed, this raises difficult ethical questions for how governments should respond to pandemics in the context of global economic inequality.

Read the original research : https://www.nber.org/papers/w28925