Thinktank finds states that resisted the stricter COVID-related lockdown measures appear to have faired better overall during an assessment of pandemic-related detriments.
QUICK FACTS:
- A new study found that states such as Florida and North Dakota outperformed states that were stricter with their COVID protocols.
- States like California and New York didn’t fare well in the so-called “final report card” published by the National Bureau of Economic Research, which took into account three factors to compose an overall rank.
- The study took into account unemployment and GDP for the state as well as the percentage of schools that stayed in operation during 2020-2021.
- The study also assessed the health of the citizens by looking at Covid-associated deaths reported to the CDC and all-cause excess mortality.
- New York, California, New Jersey, and Illinois were among the worst scoring, performing “poorly on every measure,” the report said.
- Utah, Nebraska, Vermont, Montana, South Dakota, and Florida scored among the best in the nation.
COMMENTATOR’S COMMENTS:
- “Like numerous other studies, the authors found no relationship between lockdowns (measured in this case by economic impact) and health outcomes. If anything there was a slight correlation between remaining open and lower mortality,” writes Will Jones of Sceptic News.
- “Shutting down their economies and schools was by far the biggest mistake governors and state officials made during COVID, particularly in blue states,” Steve Moore, co-founder of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, told Fox News Digital. “We hope the results of this study will persuade governors not to close schools and businesses the next time we have a new virus variant.”
BACKGROUND:
- The paper was written by Casey B. Mulligan, Professor in Economics at the University of Chicago, Phil Kerpen, President of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, and Stephen Moore of the Heritage Foundation.
