COVID-19, social distancing, and economic growth

ABSTRACT

Social distancing restrictions have become a primary measure in curbing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the fact that the survival probability of infected individuals and labour supply will decline during the pandemic, this study extends the overlapping generations (OLG) model to include the effects of COVID-19 on individuals' health and investigates the optimal social distancing policy from an economic perspective. Our results show that the pandemic can cause economic contraction, and a strict social distancing policy generally benefits economic growth. Nevertheless, absolute zero socializing may not be an optimal strategy. © 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.