Để chống dịch Covid-19 hiệu quả

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...According to data collected by Opportunity Insights, a research group based at Harvard, consumer spending (chi tiêu dùng) has fallen the most in high-income (thu nhập cao) ZIP codes. But those with high incomes have experienced almost no fall in employment (không bị mất việc). They are spending less not by necessity but by choice (tiêu thụ ít do lựa chọn).

Paradoxically (nghịch lý thay), this behavior may be helping to drive the stock market (thị trường chứng khoán) higher (tăng điểm). When income isn’t spent, it is saved. Over the last four months, the personal saving rate (tỷ lệ tiết kiệm cá nhân) has reached its highest levels on record. An increase in saving makes more dollars available for lending to borrowers and thereby reduces interest rates (giảm lãi suất). Since January, the yield on 10-year inflation-adjusted bonds has fallen more than 100 basis points. As the return on fixed-income assets declines, expected cash flows from owning stock become relatively more attractive, and stock prices rise.

...No vaccine will be 100 percent effective, which means that getting vaccinated won’t be sufficient to protect yourself from the virus. But if enough people get vaccinated, society will develop herd immunity (miễn nhiễm cộng đồng). With widespread, even if imperfect, vaccination, the virus won’t be able to spread. No one knows for sure, but experts believe that 70 to 90 percent of the population will need to be vaccinated.

Immunology, meet economics. One of the first principles of economics — perhaps the most important — is that people respond to incentives. Applying this principle to the case at hand, Mr. Litan recommends that the government pay $1,000 to whoever gets the vaccine. With a large enough incentive, most Americans are likely to get vaccinated.