STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – The coronavirus pandemic could make voters in the United States less sceptical of the role of the public sector in providing healthcare and social assistance, Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Milgrom said on Wednesday.
Many Americans believe the government’s role in public life should be strictly limited, with individuals responsible for providing for themselves. Attempts to expand the social safety net, such as President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, have met strong opposition.
But the impact of pandemic, which has claimed more than 285,000 lives in the United States, could lead to a shift in thinking.
“That it is appropriate for the government to step in the case of crises where many people are suffering through no fault of their own, this is likely to be a lasting effect,” Milgrom, who won the 2020 Nobel prize for economics, said in an interview conducted via the Internet.
“When people see shuttered stores and they see people who are unemployed … they say, this is a proper role for government, and I think we are going to see more of that.”
Milgrom, who shared this year’s award with fellow Stanford University economist Robert Wilson for work on auctions, said he was also hopeful that President-elect Joe Biden would fulfil his promises to address climate change.
“I am hopeful we will see something on income inequality, too,” he said ahead of an award ceremony on Thursday.
The traditional celebrations honouring the winners of the Nobels have been postponed this year and replaced by digital events beamed from Stockholm around the world. Most of the prizes were handed out earlier in the week in the home countries of the winners.
The Peace prize will be handed to the head of the World Food Programme, David Beasley, in Rome on Thursday.
(Reporting by Simon Johnson; Editing by David Gregorio)
