Simon Wood

Covid, lockdown and the economics of valuing lives

The government is facing some difficult calculations

(Photo by DANIEL LEAL-OLIVAS/AFP via Getty Images)
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How much should we pay to save life? The question is often viewed as distasteful: you can’t put a price on human life. But resources are finite. Even if the only purpose of life was to prolong it for as long as possible, there would be limits to healthcare affordability.

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