International cooperation during the COVID-19 pandemic

• Published in: Oxford review of economic policy Vol. 36; no. Supplement_1; pp. S64 - S76
• Main Authors: Brown, Gordon, Susskind, Daniel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: UK Oxford University Press 01-01-2020
• Subjects: COVID-19; global public goods; UN; pandemic; WHO; cooperation
• ISSN: 0266-903X; 1460-2121
• DOI: 10.1093/oxrep/graa025

Abstract
This paper explores the concept of ‘global public goods’ (GPGs) in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. It argues that many of the tasks involved in public health, and in particular those involved in the control of an infectious disease like COVID-19, ought to be treated as GPGs that can only be effectively delivered through international cooperation. It sets out what a cooperative response to the COVID-19 pandemic should look like and introduces ideas for further discussion about how it might be financed.