A Simple Model of the Production-health Trade-off During an Epidemic

The purpose of this paper is to simplify the standard framework integrating epidemiological and economic concerns. We present a model where a social planner can influence the spread-intensity of an infection wave through a single parameter. The spread-intensity affects both economic activity and population health. We study the planner's optimal trade-off between upholding economic activity and preserving population health and show analytically that the solution has a natural interpretation with intuitive comparative statics.