I’m pro-young, not anti-old: policy responses to Covid-19 are at odds with the ‘fair innings’ principle

The fair innings argument proposes that we should all be entitled to a “good” life – which, for simplicity, can approximated by how long it lasts. Most current policy responses to COVID-19 are at odds with this notion of equality over the course of one’s lifetime, argues Paul Dolan (LSE). They do not pay enough attention to the ages of all those who will die as a result of pandemic suppression policies. Policymakers need to urgently provide estimates of which groups will die prematurely as a result of their decisions.