Leading epidemiologists believe that the tools of economics are helping them to better understand the impact of the Covid-19 disease.
David Flynn, an economics commentator and historian, re-tweeted on the importance of economists working alongside epidemiologists to assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and design an effective strategy to curb its spread.
The article shared by the American Economic Association (AEC) highlights how Boston University epidemiologists such as Eleanor Murray believe that economic tools have helped her better understand the impact of the virus.
Murray highlights the importance of economists in studying and responding to Covid-19 in the Journal of Economic Perspectives. She stated that economists were important from the point of view of understanding the impact of the pandemic on businesses and economic activities, and in understanding how people would receive payments.
She also discussed why estimated cases and deaths in some of the early models either by the London Imperial College or the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation were widely different, because in both the cases researchers were trying to evaluate the spread of the disease, and compare the current health crisis with previous pandemics and outbreaks to derive an appropriate response mechanism.