Category Archives: Coronavirus crisis

Do lockdowns work in Europe?

Posted on July 28, 2021 by Paul Frijters

Let us divide the countries in Europe that have at least 1 million inhabitants into three groups: the ones that had high movement restrictions in 2020, the ones with almost no restrictions, and the ones in between. The graph below … Continue reading →

Posted in Coronavirus crisis, Dance, Death and taxes, Health, Medical, regulation, Science, Social | 18 Comments

Lockdowns and privilege

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Paul Frijters

Consider three graphs that really on their own tell the story of the groups in the US/UK that did well and that did badly economically out of the lockdowns. On the super-rich: On the workers, particularly the bottom 25% (meaning … Continue reading →

Posted in Coronavirus crisis, Employment, Humour | 38 Comments

Scott Morrison’s covid dilemma

Posted on June 9, 2021 by Paul Frijters

Pre 2020, I considered Scott Morrison a political enemy of the policies I wanted for Australia, but since then have sympathised with every attempt he has made to get Australia out of its love-affair with covid-mania. Over the fold is … Continue reading →

Posted in Coronavirus crisis, Dance, Death and taxes, Democracy, Health, Politics - international, Politics - national | 78 Comments

What has the pandemic told us about wellbeing?

Posted on June 2, 2021 by Paul Frijters

Wellbeing science has behaved very honourably during this pandemic in my opinion, particularly in the UK, where many of the best-known wellbeing researchers openly pointed to the disproportionate costs of lockdowns compared to their (dubious) benefits. Many stood up in … Continue reading →

Posted in Coronavirus crisis, History, Science, Social, Social Policy, Society | 14 Comments

Is the birthrate in Victoria dropping fast?

Posted on May 26, 2021 by Paul Frijters

One of the things I keep track off in covid-times is what is happening to births. Though it was initially suggested couples might use their extra lockdown-time to produce babies, it has become clear that in the Western world the … Continue reading →

Posted in Coronavirus crisis, Death and taxes, Health, Parenting, Social, Society | 14 Comments

Lockdown cost-benefit analysis for Australia by Martin Lally

Posted on April 28, 2021 by Paul Frijters

Martin Lally is a kiwi economist who late in 2020 decided to calculate for himself what his own country was losing by locking itself away from the world, coming to the conclusion that New Zealand was sacrificing something like 26 … Continue reading →

Posted in Coronavirus crisis, Death and taxes, Economics and public policy, Employment, Health, Politics - national, Science, Social Policy | 140 Comments

Common features of the Covistance

Posted on April 21, 2021 by Paul Frijters

I am co-writing a book on the Great Panic to explain what happened and what can be done to avoid a repeat. In the course of our research for that book, me and co-authors are scouring websites in the rest … Continue reading →

Posted in Coronavirus crisis, Cultural Critique, Health, History, Humour, Social, Society, Terror | 61 Comments