![Surgical mask with American flag print](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/optimized/public/2020-09/Policy%20and%20Pandemics_Hero%204_E-min.jpg?itok=2-Kc7qfo) # Pandemics and Policy --- What went wrong, what we’ve learned, and how to prepare for next time The third great crisis of the 21st century has already inflicted a greater toll in lives lost and economic hardship than 9/11 and the 2008 financial collapse combined. And just as the COVID-19 pandemic has upended our daily lives, it has transformed the political landscape, with governments at all levels exercising emergency powers rarely seen outside the context of total war. With so much at risk, what’s needed now is sober, realistic assessment of the choices ahead—a guide to policies that can stem the damage while avoiding permanent transformation of American life and law. The Cato Institute aims to meet that need with its new series, Pandemics and Policy. Of course, there are those who see the current crisis as an opportunity for radical change to American institutions. They insist that “there are no libertarians in a pandemic” and that there shouldn’t be. We beg to differ. While a once-in-a-century pandemic presents challenges for any political philosophy, the botched response to COVID-19 hardly represents an indictment of the American heritage of limited government. From the massive regulatory failures that stifled test provision to archaic restrictions that kept caregivers from patients, government overreach has compounded this disaster. Where they were left free to do so, the institutions of civil society have met the COVID-19 challenge with resilience, adaptability, and old-fashioned American ingenuity. In the coming months, the Pandemics and Policy series will provide policymakers with an actionable guide to policies that can harness that ingenuity and foster a resilient society capable of meeting the challenges ahead. [ #CatoCOVID ](https://x.com/hashtag/CatoCOVID) #### Essays [![black and white image of a barbershop in 1918](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2021-12/GettyImages-1219167388.jpg?itok=gV5YV5xz)](https://www.cato.org/pandemics-policy/economic-freedom-resilience-new-evidence-1918-pandemic) Study ### [Economic Freedom and Resilience: New Evidence from the 1918 Pandemic](/pandemics-policy/economic-freedom-resilience-new-evidence-1918-pandemic) By Vincent Geloso This essay presents new research that shows the importance of economic freedom—which is taken here as an indicator of institutional quality—in mitigating the damage of pandemics and epidemics. [![U.S. Capitol](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2021-09/GettyImages-1276521979.jpeg?itok=tfJfCzmp)](https://www.cato.org/pandemics-policy/covid-19-case-bigger-government-weak) Study ### [The COVID-19 Case for Bigger Government Is Weak](/pandemics-policy/covid-19-case-bigger-government-weak) By [Ryan Bourne](https://www.cato.org/people/ryan-bourne) The cross‐​country experience with COVID-19 offers little support for the notion that a more expansive, powerful, or centralized U.S. federal government would have handled this pandemic better. [![Glass Covid 19 vaccine bottles](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2021-08/GettyImages-1281635877_0.jpeg?itok=Y3CXHtel)](https://www.cato.org/pandemics-policy/society-will-never-be-free-covid-19-its-time-embrace-harm-reduction) Study ### [Society Will Never Be Free of COVID-19—It’s Time to Embrace Harm Reduction](/pandemics-policy/society-will-never-be-free-covid-19-its-time-embrace-harm-reduction) By [Jeffrey A. Singer](https://www.cato.org/people/jeffrey-singer) Policymakers should accept the fact that COVID-19 will become endemic and adopt the vision of the harm reduction movement that grew up in response to the crisis created by drug prohibition. [![Vaccine vial with needle and globe](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2021-02/GettyImages-135049132.jpg?itok=z5WYOcuq)](https://www.cato.org/pandemics-policy/pandemic-does-not-demand-government-micromanagement-global-supply-chains) Study ### [The Pandemic Does Not Demand Government Micromanagement of Global Supply Chains](/pandemics-policy/pandemic-does-not-demand-government-micromanagement-global-supply-chains) By [Scott Lincicome](https://www.cato.org/people/scott-lincicome) Evidence and analysis refute current arguments that economic nationalism would bolster the U.S. industrial base (and thus national resiliency). Instead, American protectionism has been repeatedly found to weaken the U.S. manufacturing sector and the economy more broadly. [![Stack of coins in front of a New York City background](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2021-01/GettyImages-1183533396.jpg?itok=yh5THiTD)](https://www.cato.org/pandemics-policy/covid-19-policy-failure-economic-thinking) Study ### [COVID-19 Policy: A Failure of Economic Thinking](/pandemics-policy/covid-19-policy-failure-economic-thinking) By [Ryan Bourne](https://www.cato.org/people/ryan-bourne) A host of policy decisions by politicians and regulators made the COVID-19 crisis worse, whether by facilitating the wider spread of the disease or harming economic welfare unnecessarily. Behind many bad calls lay a failure to think as a good economist would. [![Hand Sanitizers and Masks](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2020-12/GettyImages-1216747286%20%281%29-min.jpg?itok=dD1x5l1z)](https://www.cato.org/publications/pandemics-policy/when-workplace-safety-illegal) Study ### [When Workplace Safety Is Illegal](/publications/pandemics-policy/when-workplace-safety-illegal) By [Walter Olson](https://www.cato.org/people/walter-olson) Both age and disability discrimination laws are full of unintended effects, including the hindering of safe reopening of workplaces during the pandemic. [![Reading glasses on top of an open book with a laptop on top of a desk](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2020-11/GettyImages-949123718-min.jpg?itok=0HSqvSya)](https://www.cato.org/pandemics-policy/higher-education-after-covid-19) Study ### [Higher Education after COVID-19](/pandemics-policy/higher-education-after-covid-19) By [Vance Fried](https://www.cato.org/people/vance-fried) and Byron Schlomach Being present on a college campus was once inevitably part of obtaining a college education. COVID-19 has helped demonstrate that instruction and tutoring can be provided online. [![Hand holding a fence with American flag in the background](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2020-11/GettyImages-885662980-min%20%281%29.jpg?itok=1TrvQzvB)](https://www.cato.org/publications/pandemics-policy/immigration-policy-presidential-decree) Study ### [Immigration Policy by Presidential Decree](/publications/pandemics-policy/immigration-policy-presidential-decree) By [David J. Bier](https://www.cato.org/people/david-bier) and [Alex Nowrasteh](https://www.cato.org/people/alex-nowrasteh) The new immigration system has eliminated the core principles of immigration law and replaced them with the current president’s own preferences. It’s time for Congress to rectify it. [![Federal reserve building with graph lines above it](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2020-11/Federal%20Reserve_Graph%20%281%29.jpg?itok=HKJu6JV5)](https://www.cato.org/publications/pandemics-policy/maintaining-distance-between-monetary-fiscal-policy) Study ### [Maintaining Distance between Monetary and Fiscal Policy](/publications/pandemics-policy/maintaining-distance-between-monetary-fiscal-policy) By [James A. Dorn](https://www.cato.org/people/james-dorn) Adopting a rules-based approach to the conduct of monetary policy would help safeguard central bank independence and promote both monetary and financial stability. [![Hundred dollar bills flying in the wind against a blue sky](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2020-10/GettyImages-157198471-min.jpg?itok=vj0jZkSw)](https://www.cato.org/publications/pandemics-policy/ground-proposals-helicopter-money) Study ### [Ground Proposals for “Helicopter Money”](/publications/pandemics-policy/ground-proposals-helicopter-money) By [George Selgin](https://www.cato.org/people/george-selgin) “Helicopter money” is a fascinating theoretical construct that has proven useful in advancing economists’ understanding of various subtle points of monetary theory. But it risks undermining both Congress’s power of the purse and the Federal Reserve System’s already tenuous independence. [![Patient in hospital gown with IV bag and coins in background](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2020-09/gettyimages-943331302-170667a_Edited-min.jpg?itok=dClsgIqd)](https://www.cato.org/publications/pandemics-policy/balancing-tradeoffs-between-liberties-lives) Study ### [Balancing Tradeoffs between Liberties and Lives](/publications/pandemics-policy/balancing-tradeoffs-between-liberties-lives) By [Jeffrey Miron](https://www.cato.org/people/jeffrey-miron) and [Peter Van Doren](https://www.cato.org/people/peter-van-doren) Society faces a tradeoff between greater health versus higher gross domestic product and greater freedom in choosing how much, and what kind of, social distancing policies to impose. [![Cell phone with COVID-19 contact tracing app](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2020-09/GettyImages-1226380366-min.jpg?itok=9FoX121o)](https://www.cato.org/publications/pandemics-policy/protect-privacy-when-contact-tracing) Study ### [Protect Privacy When Contact Tracing](/publications/pandemics-policy/protect-privacy-when-contact-tracing) By [Julian Sanchez](https://www.cato.org/people/julian-sanchez) and [Matthew Feeney](https://www.cato.org/people/matthew-feeney) Because contact tracing technologies analyze sensitive information about citizens’ locations, they raise civil liberties concerns. Here’s how lawmakers can make them effective and protective of sensitive data. [![Hundred dollar bill with chess pieces and American flag](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2020-09/GettyImages-1222032186-min.jpg?itok=6MPj5tUI)](https://www.cato.org/pandemics-policy/pandemic-does-not-justify-protectionism-or-deglobalization) Study ### [The Pandemic Does Not Justify Protectionism or Deglobalization](/pandemics-policy/pandemic-does-not-justify-protectionism-or-deglobalization) By [Daniel J. Ikenson](https://www.cato.org/people/daniel-j-ikenson) and [Simon Lester](https://www.cato.org/people/simon-lester) International trade and cross‐​border investment produce some degree of reliance and risk, but in policymakers’ rush to indict trade and globalization, they dismiss the enormous benefits that Americans get from participating in the global economy as workers, consumers, producers, and investors. [![Scientist with a petri dish and beakers, with virus graphics overlayed](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2020-09/GettyImages-1212285236-min.jpg?itok=318fWQyi)](https://www.cato.org/publications/pandemics-policy/when-how-we-should-trust-science) Study ### [When and How We Should “Trust the Science”](/publications/pandemics-policy/when-how-we-should-trust-science) By [Peter Van Doren](https://www.cato.org/people/peter-van-doren) The essential problem with the role of science in public policy is that some scientists, most politicians, and the public want science to do more than it can. [![Reform Regulation of Health Care Providers](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2020-09/healthcare-min.jpg?itok=LUzn_MVf)](https://www.cato.org/publications/pandemics-policy/reform-regulation-health-care-providers) Study ### [Reform Regulation of Health Care Providers](/publications/pandemics-policy/reform-regulation-health-care-providers) By [Jeffrey A. Singer](https://www.cato.org/people/jeffrey-singer) The COVID-19 pandemic made state and federal lawmakers acutely aware of how state‐​based regulation of clinicians contributes to the overall shortage of health care providers and obstructs their rapid response to public health emergencies. [![Decentralize K-12 Education](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2020-09/education-min.jpg?itok=VduM-Qy_)](https://www.cato.org/pandemics-policy/decentralize-k-12-education) Study ### [Decentralize K–12 Education](/pandemics-policy/decentralize-k-12-education) By [Corey A. DeAngelis](https://www.cato.org/people/corey-deangelis) and [Neal McCluskey](https://www.cato.org/people/neal-mccluskey) What the COVID-19 pandemic has made clear in education is that one size cannot fit all, and we must not try to force it. [![Price and Wage Controls in a Pandemic](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2020-09/price%20and%20wage-min.jpg?itok=vJJgUx6u)](https://www.cato.org/publications/pandemics-policy/abolish-price-wage-controls) Study ### [Abolish Price and Wage Controls](/publications/pandemics-policy/abolish-price-wage-controls) By [Ryan Bourne](https://www.cato.org/people/ryan-bourne) Economists tend to oppose price controls at the best of times, but the public’s willingness to allow market‐​set prices appears to diminish when emergencies hit. [![State capitol building with a flag and the constitution in the background](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2020-09/State%20Capitol.jpg?itok=S-b2bCxk)](https://www.cato.org/pandemics-policy/state-police-powers-constitution) Study ### [State Police Powers and the Constitution](/pandemics-policy/state-police-powers-constitution) By [Ilya Shapiro](https://www.cato.org/people/ilya-shapiro) The pandemic is a national problem, but its impact varies by region, state, and even locality and so requires tailored solutions—ones that conform with our nation’s commitment to individual rights and the rule of law. [![Professionals seated with folders on their laps waiting](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2020-09/GettyImages-1097271132-min.jpg?itok=pNpVDW43)](https://www.cato.org/pandemics-policy/inclusive-post-covid-recovery) Study ### [An Inclusive Post-COVID Recovery](/pandemics-policy/inclusive-post-covid-recovery) By [Michael D. Tanner](https://www.cato.org/people/michael-d-tanner) As the nation reopens in the wake of COVID-19, we have the opportunity to ensure that economic recovery is fully shared by everyone. [![Covid-19 Government Failures](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/content_teaser/public/2020-09/govt%20failure-min.jpg?itok=gY-TOJOv)](https://www.cato.org/pandemics-policy/covid-19-case-study-government-failure) Study ### [COVID-19: A Case Study of Government Failure](/pandemics-policy/covid-19-case-study-government-failure) By [Charles Silver](https://www.cato.org/people/charles-silver) and [David A. Hyman](https://www.cato.org/people/david-hyman) The federal government was not ready for COVID-19, even though it has dealt with epidemics and pandemics for more than a century. [![Coronavirus](/sites/cato.org/files/styles/promo_block/public/2020-03/COVID-19.jpeg?itok=Laqes9ID)](https://www.cato.org/research/covid-19) ### [Cato’s Work on COVID-19](https://www.cato.org/research/covid-19) The COVID-19 pandemic presents the United States and the world with a challenge it has not seen in generations. Advances in public health and medicine have given many in the developed world a sense that we are invulnerable. Of course, we are not. [Learn more](https://www.cato.org/research/covid-19)