The 1918 Influenza Pandemic and its Lessons for COVID-19

Brian Beach, Karen Clay and Martin Saavedra ()

Working Papers from The George Washington University, Institute for International Economic Policy

Abstract: *This paper is part of a Symposium organized by Dr. Remi Jedwab of the George Washington University that will appear in the Journal of Economic Literature.* This article reviews the global health and economic consequences of the 1918 influenza pandemic, with a particular focus on topics that have seen a renewed interest because of COVID-19. We begin by providing an overview of key contextual and epidemiological details as well as the data that are available to researchers. We then examine the effects on mortality, fertility, and the economy in the short and medium run. The role of nonpharmaceutical interventions in shaping those outcomes is discussed throughout. We then examine longer-lasting health consequences and their impact on human capital accumulation and socioeconomic status. Throughout the paper we highlight important areas for future work.

Keywords: Pandemics; 1918 Influenza; COVID-19; epidemics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I10 J10 J24 N0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 75 pages
Date: 2020
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hea and nep-his
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (22)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www2.gwu.edu/~iiep/assets/docs/papers/2020WP/JedwabIIEP2020-15.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic and Its Lessons for COVID-19 (2022)
Working Paper: The 1918 Influenza Pandemic and its Lessons for COVID-19 (2020)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gwi:wpaper:2020-15

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