Optimal Lockdown in a Commuting Network
37 Pages Posted: 29 Jun 2020 Last revised: 25 Jun 2023
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Optimal Lockdown in a Commuting Network
Optimal Lockdown in a Commuting Network
Date Written: June 2020
Abstract
We study optimal dynamic lockdowns against Covid-19 within a commuting network. Our framework integrates canonical spatial epidemiology and trade models, and is applied to cities with varying initial viral spread: Seoul, Daegu and NYC-Metro. Spatial lockdowns achieve substantially smaller income losses than uniform lockdowns. In NYM and Daegu—with large initial shocks—the optimal lockdown restricts inflows to central districts before gradual relaxation, while in Seoul it imposes low temporal but large spatial variation. Actual commuting reductions were too weak in central locations in Daegu and NYM, and too strong across Seoul.
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