Economics, Covid-19, and the Entangled Political Economy of Public Health

22 Pages Posted: 28 Aug 2020

See all articles by Richard E. Wagner

Richard E. Wagner

George Mason University - Department of Economics; George Mason University - Mercatus Center

Date Written: August 27, 2020

Abstract

Public health is an oft-used illustration of market failure and of the necessity of governmental action to overcome such failure. Covid-19 is just the latest in a continuing series of claims of market failure that are alleged to require solution by politically selected experts. Without doubt, Covid-19 presents problems of public health; however, solution of those problems is a complex matter of social organization and not a simple matter of selecting the right expert. Subduing Covid-19 will require expertise provided by the scientific disciplines related to public health, but it will require more than that. As for how much more, I build upon Michael Polanyi’s (1962) articulation of a Republic of Science to explain that subduing Covid-19 is better accomplished when there is free and open competition among ideas and approaches, in contrast to the closed and limited competition that characterizes our present system of entangled political economy.

Keywords: Covid-19; public health; incomplete knowledge; social complexity; discussion vs. debate; Republic of Science; Michael Polanyi

JEL Classification: A11, D73, H12, H41

Suggested Citation

Wagner, Richard E., Economics, Covid-19, and the Entangled Political Economy of Public Health (August 27, 2020). GMU Working Paper in Economics No. 20-34, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3682169 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3682169

Richard E. Wagner (Contact Author)

George Mason University - Department of Economics ( email )

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Fairfax, VA 22030
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(703) 993-1132 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://mason.gmu.edu/~rwagner/

George Mason University - Mercatus Center ( email )

3434 Washington Blvd., 4th Floor
Arlington, VA 22201
United States

HOME PAGE: http://ppe.mercatus.org/scholars/richard-wagner

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