Showing 1 - 10 of 12
This paper reviews the economic literature on epidemiology, explores the collective action problem associated with disease prevention, and highlights the diverse formal and informal institutions that encourage preventative behavior. Within institutions of private sector firms, liability law, and...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012954781
This paper explores the connection between Hayek's dual problems of planning. Following Hayek we begin from the premise that the knowledge problem is ubiquitous. As Hayek argued, markets are effective at resolving the knowledge problem. However, where markets are absent, the knowledge problem...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012896742
At their arrival in North America, travelers from the Old Continent were exposed to a radically different civilization. Among the many practices that captured their imagination was scalp-taking. During battle, the Native American warrior would often stop after having killed or subdued the enemy...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012899006
Context: Despite governmental and international failures, concession firms in Liberia helped to prevent Ebola during the 2014-2015 epidemic. This essay explains the conditions under which these firms responded to the epidemic and helped to mitigate its spread. Focus is placed on the extent to...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012969004
In the absence of capable government services, a railroad company in Texas and cotton mills in North Carolina successfully prevented malaria in the early twentieth century. This essay looks through the lens of economics to understand how and why people had the incentive to privately coordinate...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012970391
This article explores the collective action problem of disease prevention by developing the conditions under which people engage in private means of mosquito control and malaria prevention. People are more likely to overcome problems related to collective action and free riding when they face...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012513708
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10012616669
The spread of COVID-19 provides a unique opportunity to explore the interactive effect of formal and informal rules. While economists and public health scholars realize the independent effects social capital and stringent public health rules have on prevalence and mortality rates, we advance...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10013217710
The on-going debate regarding in-kind versus cash transfers to low-income people focuses on normal settings, devoid of the additional constraints imposed during a crisis. We analyze the effect of welfare regulations on SNAP and WIC recipients in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and related herd...
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10013312723
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10013473650