COVID-zero policies: How Melbourne’s 111 days of lockdowns experiment mostly harmed mothers
Lockdown was used worldwide to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2, and was also the cornerstone non-pharmaceutical intervention of jurisdictions that pursued zero-COVID strategies.
Although known to impact mental health, there are no estimates of its causal effects on other aspects life, which we evaluated using the 111-day long hard lockdown in Melbourne (Australia), the longest among OECD jurisdictions.
We discuss potential explanations for the penalties of COVID-zero policies, which were not as harmful as may have been expected, but came at high cost to mothers.
Surprisingly, we found most vulnerable groups were left unscathed.
Speaker
Stefanie Schurer, Professor of Economics, University of Sydney
Prof Schurer is an internationally recognised expert in the field of the Economics of Human Development. She has produced some of the first insights on the stability and determinants of non-cognitive skills over the life course. Her current research program focuses on the impact of public policy on human development.
Prof Schurer is a chief investigator on several linked administrative data projects in Australia. She uses such big data to study the consequences of Australia's key family, welfare, and medical policies for Indigenous children.
Prof Schurer leads the NHMRC-funded Against the Odds: Indigenous Youth Wellbeing project, has led multiple evaluations on the impact of the Northern Territory’s controversial income management and alcohol restriction policies, is a co-investigator on several evaluations of the NSW child protection system where Indigenous children are heavily over-represented, is the secretary and board member of the international Association for Economic Research of Indigenous Peoples, and is a member of the Charles Perkins Centre’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Steering Committee.
Since 2020, she has been a member of the National Economic Panel of the Economic Society of Australia. In 2021, she was awarded the Economic Society of Australia’s Young Economist of the Year award and the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Teaching and Research.
CHE weekly seminar series
As part of the Centre for Health Economics’ vibrant research culture, we host a weekly seminar series. Visiting and invited researchers present current research relating to the economics of health and wellbeing, and the healthcare sector. Visitors are welcome to join these sessions where discussion and debate is encouraged. We aim to present all seminars in-person and also on Zoom.
Event Details
- Date:
- 7 September 2022 at 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm
- Venue:
- In-person at Caulfield campus, Building H, Level 9, Room H914 and Zoom
- Categories:
- Health Economics; CHE Seminar; General
Description
Lockdown was used worldwide to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2, and was also the cornerstone non-pharmaceutical intervention of jurisdictions that pursued zero-COVID strategies.
Although known to impact mental health, there are no estimates of its causal effects on other aspects life, which we evaluated using the 111-day long hard lockdown in Melbourne (Australia), the longest among OECD jurisdictions.
We discuss potential explanations for the penalties of COVID-zero policies, which were not as harmful as may have been expected, but came at high cost to mothers.
Surprisingly, we found most vulnerable groups were left unscathed.
Speaker
Stefanie Schurer, Professor of Economics, University of Sydney
Prof Schurer is an internationally recognised expert in the field of the Economics of Human Development. She has produced some of the first insights on the stability and determinants of non-cognitive skills over the life course. Her current research program focuses on the impact of public policy on human development.
Prof Schurer is a chief investigator on several linked administrative data projects in Australia. She uses such big data to study the consequences of Australia's key family, welfare, and medical policies for Indigenous children.
Prof Schurer leads the NHMRC-funded Against the Odds: Indigenous Youth Wellbeing project, has led multiple evaluations on the impact of the Northern Territory’s controversial income management and alcohol restriction policies, is a co-investigator on several evaluations of the NSW child protection system where Indigenous children are heavily over-represented, is the secretary and board member of the international Association for Economic Research of Indigenous Peoples, and is a member of the Charles Perkins Centre’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Steering Committee.
Since 2020, she has been a member of the National Economic Panel of the Economic Society of Australia. In 2021, she was awarded the Economic Society of Australia’s Young Economist of the Year award and the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Teaching and Research.
CHE weekly seminar series
As part of the Centre for Health Economics’ vibrant research culture, we host a weekly seminar series. Visiting and invited researchers present current research relating to the economics of health and wellbeing, and the healthcare sector. Visitors are welcome to join these sessions where discussion and debate is encouraged. We aim to present all seminars in-person and also on Zoom.