A social cost–benefit framework for COVID-19 policy decisions

Abstract

Important public sector decisions should be informed by cost–benefit analysis (CBA), according to the New Zealand Treasury. This paper explores whether policy decisions about COVID-19 responses are tractable and amenable to ex ante CBA. It does so with a worked example: a CBA of the decision to extend alert level 4 restrictions by a further 5 days on 20 April 2020, using the information that was known at the time. The paper concludes that such analysis is both tractable and a worthwhile input into COVID-19 decision making.