Economies in the Time of Coronavirus (in English and Chinese)

 Here's a short essay I wrote for the Luhohan Academy in June, published on their web site in July in English, and the Chinese translation in the Caixin online magazine.

Economies in the Time of Coronavirus

by Alvin E. Roth

Here's the first paragraph:

"Years from now we will look back on the Covid-19 pandemic as a source of much new information, not just about epidemic disease and how to manage it, but about structural features of the world’s economies that were made clearer by the crisis and how it was handled, both well and badly.  In the meantime, we can begin to speculate about what we will have learned when the pandemic is history, and what we must still learn to prepare for dealing with its continuation, and with future pandemics."

...

here's another paragraph:

"Testing policies will have to keep in mind what economists know well, which is that there may be perverse incentives in play. Some people will be very eager to return to work, and might be willing to do so even when they risk spreading infection. Others may be happy to work from home (especially if there is risk of infection at work) and may not wish to return to work even when they themselves do not pose a risk to others. And if those who have been infected and have recovered  (e.g. who test positive for antibodies) are treated differently than others, some people may feel a need to expose themselves to infection in order to enter this privileged class. So who conducts the tests, and how they are reported and recorded, will be important."

and here it begins in Chinese (but gated):

阿尔文·罗思：新冠疫情时期的经济与政策 

2020年07月17日 10:59

T中

为应对疫情，我们要完成一些当下和短期目标，而为下一次大流行病做准备，我们面临一些更长期的任务

　　文|阿尔文·罗思（Alvin E. Roth）