{"title":"The Covid-19 lesson from Sweden: Don't lock down","authors":"Fredrik N G Andersson, Lars Jonung","doi":"10.1111/ecaf.12611","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ecaf.12611","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Covid-19 triggered a wave of lockdowns across the world, contributing to a severe downturn in economic activity. Governments responded by introducing expansionary fiscal and monetary measures. We compare the health and economic outcomes in Sweden, commonly viewed as an outlier relying more on recommendations and voluntary adjustments than on strict lockdowns, with those of comparable European OECD countries. Our results suggest that the Swedish policy of advice and trust in the population to reduce social interactions voluntarily was relatively successful. Sweden combined low excess death rates with relatively small economic costs. In future pandemics, policymakers should rely on empirical evidence rather than panicking and adopting extreme measures. Even if policymakers appeared to act rapidly and decisively, the rushed implementation of strict lockdowns in 2020/21 probably did more harm than good.</p>","PeriodicalId":44825,"journal":{"name":"ECONOMIC AFFAIRS","volume":"44 1","pages":"3-16"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2024-02-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ecaf.12611","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139844905","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Does the monetary base matter? A response to Tim Congdon","authors":"Scott Sumner","doi":"10.1111/ecaf.12590","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ecaf.12590","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44825,"journal":{"name":"ECONOMIC AFFAIRS","volume":"43 3","pages":"437-440"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50137296","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Russia–Ukraine conflict and investor psychology in financial markets","authors":"Emon Kalyan Chowdhury, Umme Humaira","doi":"10.1111/ecaf.12596","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ecaf.12596","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study examines the effect of the Russia–Ukraine conflict on global financial markets and the resulting changes in investor psychology. We have analysed weekly data from January 2021 to March 2023, including indicators such as gross national income, Bitcoin historical price, Standard and Poor 500 index, US consumer price index, US dollar index, and investor psychology index, using a variety of econometric techniques. Our findings reveal a positive and significant correlation between investor psychology and market returns. These results highlight the importance of monitoring investor psychology during times of conflict as it can greatly impact investment decisions in financial markets, providing valuable insights for investors and policymakers.</p>","PeriodicalId":44825,"journal":{"name":"ECONOMIC AFFAIRS","volume":"43 3","pages":"388-405"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50146074","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Regime change: Towards a postliberal future By Patrick J Deneen, Swift Press. 2023. 288 pp. £22.00 (hbk). ISBN: 9781800753297. £12.99 (ebk). ISBN: 978–1800753303","authors":"Jamie Whyte","doi":"10.1111/ecaf.12589","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ecaf.12589","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44825,"journal":{"name":"ECONOMIC AFFAIRS","volume":"43 3","pages":"470-472"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50117226","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"End times: Elites, counter-elites and the path of political disintegration By Peter Turchin. Allen Lane. 2023. 368 pp. £25.00 (hbk). ISBN: 978-0241553480. £10.99 (pbk). ISBN: 978-0141999289. £12.99 (ebk). ISBN: 978-0141999296","authors":"Susanna Booth","doi":"10.1111/ecaf.12597","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ecaf.12597","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44825,"journal":{"name":"ECONOMIC AFFAIRS","volume":"43 3","pages":"466-467"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50117227","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Talmud on usury","authors":"Benedikt Koehler","doi":"10.1111/ecaf.12599","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ecaf.12599","url":null,"abstract":"A ban on usury was endorsed by Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Usury was banned in the Books of Moses, but defined in the Babylonian Talmud as a ‘reward for waiting’. Conceptions of usury in early Christianity and Islam accorded with that of the Talmud. A misrepresentation of the Talmudic conception of usury by Jacob Neusner was refuted by Emil Cohn.","PeriodicalId":44825,"journal":{"name":"ECONOMIC AFFAIRS","volume":"43 3","pages":"423-435"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50127271","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Squaring the circle: Economic legacies of the Cold War","authors":"Carlos Rodríguez Braun","doi":"10.1111/ecaf.12607","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ecaf.12607","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44825,"journal":{"name":"ECONOMIC AFFAIRS","volume":"43 3","pages":"453-457"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50137300","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The ends of freedom: Recovering America's lost promise of economic rights By Mark Paul, University of Chicago Press. 2023. 320 pp. $26.00 (hbk). ISBN: 978–0226792965. $25.99 (PDF). ISBN: 978–0226826295. $25.99 (ebk). ISBN: 978–0226826295","authors":"Joshua Bowden","doi":"10.1111/ecaf.12601","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ecaf.12601","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44825,"journal":{"name":"ECONOMIC AFFAIRS","volume":"43 3","pages":"468-469"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50117280","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"We need to talk about inflation: 14 urgent lessons from the last 2,000 years By Stephen D. King, Yale University Press. 2023. 240 pp. £20.00 (hbk). ISBN: 978–0300270471. £9.99 (pbk). ISBN: 978–0300276084. £20.00 (ebk). ISBN: 978–0300271560","authors":"Christopher Snowdon","doi":"10.1111/ecaf.12602","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ecaf.12602","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44825,"journal":{"name":"ECONOMIC AFFAIRS","volume":"43 3","pages":"463-465"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50127270","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The monetarists: The making of the Chicago monetary tradition, 1927–1960 By George S Tavlas, University of Chicago Press. 2023. 656 pp. $50.00 (hbk). ISBN: 978–0226823188. $49.99 (PDF). ISBN: 978–0226823195. $49.99 (ebk). ISBN: 978–0226823195","authors":"John Greenwood","doi":"10.1111/ecaf.12603","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ecaf.12603","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":44825,"journal":{"name":"ECONOMIC AFFAIRS","volume":"43 3","pages":"477-479"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"50146078","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}