The Ought-Does Gap in Pandemic Policy

44 Pages Posted: 21 Sep 2023

See all articles by Raymond March

Raymond March

Texas Tech University - Free Market Institute; Angelo State University

Adam G. Martin

Texas Tech University - Free Market Institute

Date Written: September 21, 2023

Abstract

Positive economic analysis brings tradeoffs, unintended consequences, and the role of policy in shaping individual behavior in analyzing pandemic policy responses. Welfare economics builds a set of normative recommendations about how government ought to respond to a pandemic. But there is often a divergence between what welfare economics recommends and what governments do. We call this divergence the ought-does gap. Two sources for this gap include knowledge problems and misaligned political incentives. Knowledge problems limit the set of feasible policy responses that governments can successfully administer. Misaligned incentives drive a wedge between policies that should be implemented and those that governments in fact attempt. While the paper's main argument takes a very general approach to normative analysis, we conclude with a discussion of what is missing from this approach. Government policy generally, including pandemic policy, should prioritize institutional robustness and economic growth for a wide range of reasons, public health being just one.

Suggested Citation

March, Raymond and Martin, Adam G., The Ought-Does Gap in Pandemic Policy (September 21, 2023). Free Market Institute Research Paper No. 4579110, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4579110 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4579110

Raymond March

Texas Tech University - Free Market Institute ( email )

Box 45059
Lubbock, TX 79409-5059
United States

Angelo State University ( email )

2601 W. Avenue N
San Angelo, TX 76909
United States

Adam G. Martin (Contact Author)

Texas Tech University - Free Market Institute ( email )

Box 45059
Lubbock, TX 79409-5059
United States

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