A cost-benefit analysis of Covid-19 response policies. A comparison of Sweden and Norway

Abstract: Abstract. As the end of the Covid-19 pandemic is approaching, it is timely to assess different response policies. Utilizing the sweeping similarities between Sweden and Norway, the relative efficiency of their respective policies during the pandemic period have been assessed. A cost-benefit analysis was conducted using health economic methods to translate the health effects into monetary values. The benefit was expressed as relative QALYs lost in monetary terms and the cost in relative GDP performance. The results show that Sweden experienced a 4,5 times larger GDP per capita loss and a 5,3 times larger loss of QALYs per capita than Norway. This paper concludes that during the pandemic period, Sweden has lost 54 094 SEK per capita and Norway 11 395 SEK per capita. This implies a 4,7 times larger total net loss for Sweden compared to Norway. These results remain robust after conducting a series of sensitivity analyses testing the assumptions made in this paper. It is suggested that the main driver of these results was the responsiveness in the country's initial response policy.