CfP: The Philosophy and Economics of Pandemics

 The Erasmus Journal for Philosophy and Economics invites submissions for a forthcoming special issue devoted to the challenges posed by global pandemics, in general, and by the Covid–19 pandemic, in particular. 

We are especially interested in short, focused contributions (2,000–4,000 words) that take an interdisciplinary approach at the intersection of philosophy and economics, and we welcome texts by authors from across the disciplinary spectrum. 

We invite submissions from the following broad categories of possible (but non-exhaustive) questions:

 

  • Methodology of economics: How do the assumptions underlying epidemiological models, on the one hand, and economic models, on the other, differ? What explains the seeming differences—in predictions, optimism, etc.—among experts in various relevant fields, from epidemiology to economics; and what can disciplines learn from each other’s modelling strategies?
  • Ethics and political philosophy: How should moral trade-offs—such as between well-being, freedom and life duration—that pandemic management strategies give rise to be identified and resolved? What kind of issues of global justice does a global pandemic give rise to? 
  • Public policy and decision theory: What kind of duties and responsibilities do citizens have during a pandemic? What kind of principles could legitimise the balancing between individual rights and liberties, on the one hand, and (private and public) welfare, on the other? How should the various types of risks and uncertainties regarding pandemics and management strategies be properly taken into account? 

While naturally our—like everyone’s—immediate attention is focused on the Covid–19 pandemic, we very much welcome texts that draw lessons from past pandemics for the challenges we currently face.

Length:

Texts should be in the range of 2,000–4,000 words.

Deadline:

Texts should be submitted by January 10, 2021.

Procedure:

Submissions will go through a standard peer-review process. Please make a submission through the journal’s standard submission system. The special issue is scheduled for publication in the spring/summer of 2021.

 Questions:

If you have questions, contact the editors at editors@ejpe.org.