Fear of coronavirus, not lockdown, is the biggest threat to the UK's economy | Simon Wren-Lewis

Tory MPs are missing the point: lifting restrictions won’t ease this recession, people need to feel the outbreak is under control Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageIn April, UK GDP was 25% below its level in February. While such a rapid fall in output is unprecedented, so are the reasons for it. Unfortunately many Conservative MPs seem to think the collapse in output is due to the lockdown, whereas in reality it is due to the pandemic. If there had been no lockdown, and the epidemic had run its course unhindered, we would have seen a fall in output of similar size.The reason is that in the middle of a pandemic most people will try to avoid catching the virus. That means they will avoid going to pubs and restaurants, or cinemas and concerts. These are all part of what we can call social consumption. Many people will stay at home as far as possible voluntarily, which means using transport less and perhaps taking their children out of school. Continue reading…
Via: Fear of coronavirus, not lockdown, is the biggest threat to the UK's economy | Simon Wren-Lewis