Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/223663 
Year of Publication: 
2020
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 13221
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
Some commentators argue for a fairly general release from COVID-19 lockdown. That has a troubling flaw. It ignores the fatality risks that will then be faced by citizens in midlife and older. This paper provides information on the strong age-pattern in the risk of death from three countries (China, Italy, the UK). If politicians want an imminent removal of the lockdown, the safest approach in our judgment would be a rolling age-release strategy combined with the current principle of social distancing. But even if that is not the policy adopted, citizens need to be shown graphs of the kind in this paper. Honest guidance ought to be given to those in midlife and beyond. Governments have to allow people to understand their personal risk after any release from lockdown.
Subjects: 
coronavirus
labor market
recession
COVID-19
JEL: 
I18
J13
K38
H75
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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