01946cas a2200253 a 4500 AALejournalIMF021225 230101c9999 xx r poo 0 0eng d 5.00 USD 9781513556307 1018-5941 BD-DhAAL BD-DhAAL Dizioli, Allan. Information and Inequality in the Time of a Pandemic / Allan Dizioli, Roberto Pinheiro. Washington, D.C. : International Monetary Fund, 2020. 1 online resource (49 pages) IMF Working Papers <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students We introduce two types of agent heterogeneity in a calibrated epidemiological search model. First, some agents cannot afford staying home to minimize their virus exposure, while others can. Our results show that these poor agents bear most of the epidemic's health costs. Moreover, we show that having more agents who do not change their behavior during the pandemic could lead to a deeper recession. Second, agents are heterogeneous in developing symptoms. We show that diseases with higher share of asymptomatic cases, even if less lethal, lead to worse health and economic outcomes. Public policies such as testing, quarantining, and lockdowns are particularly beneficial in economies with a larger share of poor agents. However, lockdowns lose effectiveness when part of the agents take precautions to minimize virus exposure independent of government actions. Mode of access: Internet Pinheiro, Roberto. IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ; No. 2020/188 Full text available on IMF http://elibrary.imf.org/view/journals/001/2020/188/001.2020.issue-188-en.xml IMF e-Library