The outbreak of COVID-19 has become a worldwide concern for consumers, businesses, and public policy makers. Social distancing is now a top consideration for consumers when deciding where and how to shop, which reduces their willingness to shop in physical stores with others who may carry the...

The Covid-19 pandemic has motivated a myriad of studies and proposals on how economic policy should respond to this colossal shock. But in this debate it is seldom recognized that the health shock is not entirely exogenous. Its magnitude and dynamics themselves depend on economic policies, and...