Could the pandemic cause economists to rethink welfare?

EVERY JANUARY a curious migration occurs. Thousands of economists from around the world flock to a big American city for the annual meetings of the American Economic Association (AEA). The pandemic upended the rite this year, and instead enabled conference attendees to peer into the living rooms and offices of scholars as they presented their work, much of it focused on the consequences of covid-19, on Zoom. The events of 2020 drew attention to the importance for prosperity of factors that economists often neglect, such as state capacity and social trust. Perhaps in a sign of change to economic thinking to come, some of the fare on offer at this year’s shindig suggested that raising welfare is often more a matter of collective choice than maximising efficiency.