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Borrow crisis tactics to get COVID-19 supplies to where they are needed

Emergency procedures that keep electricity running and food banks stocked can also keep health workers in protective equipment.
  1. Peter Cramton

    1. Peter Cramton is a professor in the Center for Social and Economic Behavior and the Department of Economics, University of Cologne, Germany.

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  2. Axel Ockenfels

    1. Axel Ockenfels is a professor in the Center for Social and Economic Behavior and the Department of Economics, University of Cologne, Germany.

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  3. Alvin E. Roth

    1. Alvin E. Roth is a professor in the Economics Department and the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, California, USA.

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  4. Robert B. Wilson

    1. Robert B. Wilson is a professor in the Economics Department and the Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, California, USA.

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Workers producing medical gowns in a factory wearing surgical masks and face shields due

Workers produce gowns and other protective equipment for use during the pandemic. Credit: Fadel Senna/AFP/Getty

The coronavirus pandemic has provided an object lesson in market failure. As witnessed with the global scramble for personal protective equipment (PPE), ventilators, tests, sanitizer and more, the balance between pricing, supply and demand breaks down during emergencies.

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Nature 582, 334-336 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-01750-6

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