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Rights redistribution and COVID-19 lockdown policy

Author

Listed:
  • Giampaolo Garzarelli

    (Sapienza – University of Rome
    University of the Witwatersrand)

  • Lyndal Keeton

    (University of the Witwatersrand)

  • Aldo A. Sitoe

    (University of the Witwatersrand)

Abstract

What is the tenet upon which the public policy of lockdown by fiat experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic is based on? The work approaches this question about the rationale of the mandatory shelter-in-place policy as an interpersonal exchange of rights, but where the exchange occurs coercively instead of voluntarily. It compares, in positive political economy terms, the normative principles of utilitarianism and Rawlsianism, and shows that lockdown by fiat is a policy that is closer to a maximin equity criterion rather than to a utilitarian one. The work moreover shows, also with the aid of a thought experiment and with factual applications, that the fiat redistribution of rights to liberty in favor of rights to health—from those least affected to those most affected by COVID-19—is, in the main, a policy choice that is to be expected under certain constraints.

Suggested Citation

  • Giampaolo Garzarelli & Lyndal Keeton & Aldo A. Sitoe, 2022. "Rights redistribution and COVID-19 lockdown policy," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 5-36, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:ejlwec:v:54:y:2022:i:1:d:10.1007_s10657-022-09732-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s10657-022-09732-x
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    2. Darcy W. E. Allen & Chris Berg & Sinclair Davidson & Jason Potts, 2022. "On Coase and COVID-19," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 54(1), pages 107-125, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    COVID-19 pandemic; Health rights; Liberty rights; Maximin equity criterion; Public and social institutions; Public policy; Rawls;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D04 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Policy: Formulation; Implementation; Evaluation
    • D78 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - Positive Analysis of Policy Formulation and Implementation
    • H11 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Structure and Scope of Government
    • H12 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Crisis Management
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health

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