Utopia, you are standing in it!

The UK government’s daily coronavirus briefing on Friday drew more attention to a question that has already been troubling many people: could the wider economic and health impacts of the fight against Covid-19 actually do more harm than the virus itself?

My view, for what it’s worth, is that it is right to err on the side of keeping the lockdown in place for longer. But it is also obviously right to have a serious and open debate about these issues – and very unhelpful to continue to vilify anybody who dares to raise them.

There are two main reasons for thinking that the lockdown could be counter-productive. The first is the impact that the collapse in economic activity might have on the nation’s health, although there may be some benefits here as well as costs (as I will explain later).

The second and perhaps more immediate concern is that…

Cross-country comparisons are often enlightening, even if they just throw up more questions. In matters economic I’ve often highlighted New Zealand/Australia comparisons – both distant, resource-dependent, economies, with a similar legal and political background, market-oriented economies etc.

Ever since the coronavirus issue started to come to the fore it has also seem natural to try to make a little more sense of the New Zealand experience by looking at what is happening in Australia.  After all, both countries took the China travel ban route (us dragged along a day later by the Australian choice), both are islands (to the extent that matters at a time of more generalised movement restrictions), both have just come off summer (to the extent that may, or may not, matter) and both typically prided themselves on being open and democratic societies.  In both countries, (lots of) returning travellers seem to have accounted for most confirmed…

As the Covid-19 pandemic plunges the  world  into a  recession – deeper probably   than the global  financial  crisis – thousands  of  New Zealanders are losing  their jobs  and the  country’s  economy is  already  under  enormous  pressure. Some authorities  predict  it will precipitate a  revolution in  how  we live.

What, then,  about that other revolution which climate change warriors insist is essential  if  we  are not to face  extinction? Can it be relegated in policy priorities as  the government  seeks   to  plot  a  way through the  human  and  economic  misery  of the pandemic?

Covid-19 has cleared the skies of pollution. Carbon emissions  from the worst polluters  (airlines and  land  transport)  have  shrunk  almost to  zero.   International  tourism has come to a  halt,  cruise  liners  are  being laid up, and the global  warming   which  appeared to be such a threat  only  weeks   ago  is  moving at a  much slower  pace.

Those  in…

H/T Sasha Via Bloomberg:

The world’s biggest developer of offshore wind farms issued a reality check to the industry, saying it has overestimated the amount of time its turbines are generating electricity.

Copenhagen-basedOrsted A/Sannounced that offshore wind farms wouldn’t produce quite as much power as previously forecast. The adjustment could shave millions of dollars of revenue a year off each project. It’s also a warning to other developers who may have used similar analysis to estimate the economics of their projects.