Covid is forcing economists to look at other disciplines for recovery clues | Larry Elliott

Epidemiology, psychology and sociology are at play in forecasting post-pandemic spending

Three times a week an update on new Covid-19 cases is published by the economics consultancy Pantheon. Vaccination rates are monitored by the Swiss bank UBS. The scientists advising the government are in regular contact with the Bank of England's monetary policy committee - the body that sets interest rates.

Richard Nixon may or may not have said we are all Keynesians now" after the US broke its link with gold in 1971 but one thing is for sure: all economists are epidemiologists now. And there's a downside and an upside to that.