The Economics of Pandemics
Unemployment in February 2020 was
3.5 percent (a 50-year low)
Before COVID-19 struck in 2020, the unemployment rate was at ______ in February. It increased to ______ in March, and to ______ in April. For the next two months, it ______.
3.5 percent; 4.4 percent; 14.7 percent; declined
The decline of RGDP in the first quarter of 2020 was ______ percent. This was _______.
5.0; bad, but not the worst quarter in post-World War II history
The sudden increase in demand for PPE in the middle of a pandemic might motivate businesses to engage in ______.
price gouging
Key stock market indices ______ between mid-February and mid-March 2020.
dropped by 25-35 percent
Which type of medical research fits best into the category of purely public goods?
figuring out how pathogens mutate allowing them to move from animals to humans
In the context of COVID-19, a law that limits price increases (imposing a price ceiling) on PPE, toilet paper, and hand sanitizer would be designed to prevent price ____.
gouging
Suppose a drug has been approved by the FDA to treat disease A. It ______ be used to treat disease B. In the case of Remdesivir, it was originally approved to treat ______. It was later shown to be ______ against COVID-19.
may; SARS and MERS; effective
Identify the currencies that lost value relative to the dollar between January and May 2020.
yuan (China) euro pound (United Kingdom) won (South Korea)
Order the laws passed dealing with COVID-19 in terms of their costs (from smallest to largest).
1. Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriation 2. Families First Coronavirus Response Act 3. Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act
Rank these countries in terms of the fiscal policy actions taken during COVID-19 (from most aggressive/highest as a percentage of GDP to least aggressive/smallest as a percentage of GDP).
1. Japan 2. The United States 3. Germany 4. Greece
Rank the currencies (from strongest to weakest) during late March 2020 relative to their position in January 2020.
1. dollar 2. euro 3. won 4. pound
In the first six months of 2020, the unemployment rate was highest in the month of _________.
April
The earliest cases of COVID-19 were centered in ____. The center then moved (during March and April) to _____ and then (May and June) to _____.
China; Europe; the Americas
Throughout 20th and 21st century history, epidemics/pandemics have been ____ recessions.
Coincident but not causal of
Match the name of the law with the elements of the law.
Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriation Money for tests for COVID-19 plus for research on vaccines and treatments. Families First Coronavirus Response Act Money to fund fully paid leave for workers with COVID-19 and partial paid leave for those who must care for them. Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act Money for $600 extra unemployment compensation, loans for businesses (that could turn into grants, stimulus payments of $1200 per adult and $500 per child.
The entity that regulates and certifies whether drugs, medical tests, medical devices, and vaccines are safe and effective is the ______.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The _______ is the currency that lost the most value relative to the dollar from January to May 2020.
Pound
The Federal Reserve made the same mistakes it did in the Great Recession regarding the unwaivering application of the mark-to-market accounting rule.
False
Which country was credited with having the most effective response to COVID-19 (in terms of controlling the spread of the disease)?
South Korea
The country (via its central bank) with the most aggressive monetary policy during COVID-19 was ______.
The United States
Which determinant of demand best describes the relationship between aloe vera gel and rubbing alcohol when they are used to make homemade hand sanitizer?
They are complements
The most severe form of disease spread is
a pandemic
When a country can produce a good better, faster, or more quickly than a competitor, it has a(n) ______ advantage. This _____ what motivates international trade.
absolute; is not
One of the first industries hit hard by Covid-19 was the ______ industry.
airline
When a country has a lower opportunity of producing a good, it has a(n) _________ advantage, which motivates international trade.
comparative
The numerator of the infection mortality rate (IMR)/ case fatality rate (CFR) is the number of ______, while the denominator is the _____.
deaths attributable to the disease; number of people with a confirmed case
Transportation Security Administration screenings _____ during the month of March 2020.
declined by more than 90 percent
A national stockpile of PPE would be considered a ______ because there is no rivalry nor exclusivity associated with the benefit society gets from having it.
purely public good
The Federal Reserve's response to COVID-19 was ______.
quick and forceful, using nearly every imaginable tool available to it
The Wall Street Journal's panel of business economists and the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the decline in second quarter RGDP would be ______.
record setting at between 20 and 40 percent
During April through June 2020, major stock market indices ______.
recovered most of their losses (and some set new records)
Using the Oxford University Index of Stringency, the U.S. response was ______ than those in Asia.
slower and less strict
From 2009 to 2020, weekly unemployment claims ______.
steadily declined from more than 600,000 to around 200,000
