The effectiveness of government measures in the first wave of Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

The aim of the article is to use empirical analysis to confirm the applicability of NAIRU and NARRU concepts to evaluate the adequacy of measures against Covid 19. While higher NAIRU than NARRU throughout the coronavirus pandemic period confirmed the achievement of an epidemic-economic balance in the labor market at the cost of spreading the epidemic, a lower positive unemployment gap in the NAIRU concept indicated a milder recession than the epidemic in society would require. The Czech government should have either introduced a stricter lockdown or should have provided enough respirators, tests, and vaccines. The application of the NAIRU concept also confirms its suitability for use in economic and political practice in an unstable period.