Module description
Note: this course will be team taught: that is, there will be a different lecturer every week, some from within DPE and some from other backgrounds, so as to cover a wide variety of topics from different perspectives. This worked successfully in previous years
Covid-19 is an infectious disease caused by a type of virus, manifesting itself in individual human beings; but the covid-19 pandemic was not just a health issue, but a social and economic phenomenon. This module will explore the economics and politics of the covid-19 pandemic and the policy response (health-related, economic and social) in the UK and other countries. It will not cover specific medical or scientific aspects of covid-19 as a disease, but beyond that will discuss a wide range of topics relating both to the direct and indirect impacts of the pandemic on societies and economies across the glob. There will be a particular focus on how and why policy decisions were taken; and on the longer-term implications.
Assessment details
1,500-word essay (50%) & 2-hour online exam (50%)
Educational aims & objectives
This module will give students:
- an understanding of the historical context of pandemics
- an understanding of how the policy process functions in times of crisis, and the interaction between scientific advice and analysis and policy-making;
- an understanding of the potential economic impacts of pandemics and associated health-related restrictions in both the short and long-run, and the key issues in formulating and assessing the economic policy response in the UK and elsewhere
- an understanding of the broader social and economic issues highlighted by the pandemic and the debates it has sparked off.
Learning outcomes
By the end of this module, student should be able to:
- discuss the potential economic impacts of pandemics and associated health-related restrictions in both the short and long-run;
- critically analyse the policy response to the pandemic, including both the immediate crisis and response and medium to long-term policy formulation, both in the UK and elsewhere;
- formulate and discuss their own hypotheses on the longer-term economic, social and political implications of the pandemic, along a number of dimensions (geographical, social, etc).
These skills will be valuable in a number of contexts
- business planning and policy analysis in the public, private or third sector;
- in interpreting and using scientific and statistical information in decision-making
- risk assessment and risk management