Skip to main content

Key lessons from Sweden’s Covid response

Sweden’s unique response to the pandemic means that it has acted as a control experiment for economists and epidemiologists alike. We suspect that its economy would have shrunk by an additional 3-4%-points in the first half of the year if it had followed a similar approach to Germany. But this economic gain came at a human cost, albeit one which is difficult to quantify. A post-mortem of Sweden’s experience offers insights into the costs and benefits of different approaches to a second wave of the virus, one of which is that - even in the absence of a legal lockdown - behavioural changes will impose a heavy economic cost if the virus picks up again.

Become a client to read more

This is premium content that requires an active Capital Economics subscription to view.

Already have an account?

You may already have access to this premium content as part of a paid subscription.

Sign in to read the content in full or get details of how you can access it

Register for free

Sign up for a free account to gain:

  • Unlock additional content
  • Register for Capital Economics events
  • Receive email updates and economist-curated newsletters
  • Request a free trial of our services


Get access