In my last post I looked at Sweden’s pandemic response and made two observations. First, it appears that Sweden’s policy choices during the pandemic, which relied largely on voluntary compliance with public health guidance rather than mandates, do not seem to have resulted in superior economic performance relative to its Nordic neighbors. Economic growth in Norway, Denmark, and Sweden followed very similar trajectories over the 2020-2022 period.
Very interesting, the overly conservative behaviour in Sweden after experiencing the first wave may be mirrored by an excessive loosening in countries that experienced lockdowns and low mortality. This seems to me to characterise the dynamics in Australia, where precautionary behaviour largely disappeared once the lengthy lockdowns were lifted. People likely hah had enough of the constraints (with limited deaths) and were inclined to go back to a normal life.
Interesting article. I appreciate that you are looking at a highly charged subject with care and nuance.
Thank you Justus, the discussion of Sweden is very polarized, and meanwhile nobody is looking at Denmark!
Very interesting, the overly conservative behaviour in Sweden after experiencing the first wave may be mirrored by an excessive loosening in countries that experienced lockdowns and low mortality. This seems to me to characterise the dynamics in Australia, where precautionary behaviour largely disappeared once the lengthy lockdowns were lifted. People likely hah had enough of the constraints (with limited deaths) and were inclined to go back to a normal life.
Yes this makes a lot of sense