In just a few months, the COVID-19 pandemic has become a simultaneous health and economic crisis of unparalleled magnitude. The COVID-19 pandemic will doubtless have many life-altering short- and long-term effects related to health. Researchers around the world have turned their attention to examining the causes and consequences of the current pandemic as it unfolds, as well as to drawing on prior disease outbreaks for lessons that may be relevant today.

Economics and Human Biology seeks to expedite the dissemination of such research findings through this open call for theoretical and empirical papers related to pandemics. Papers may focus but are not limited to topics such as: modeling disease transmission using economic methods; impact of infectious disease outbreaks on health and economic outcomes; effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on different sectors of the economy; impact of the responses (by countries or states) to the pandemic. The topics mentioned here are not exhaustive and other papers that relate to the pandemic and health are also welcome.

Short communications, as well as regular manuscripts, will be considered. This volume will be a “virtual special issue” in the sense that individual papers will be published online as part of the special issue after they are reviewed and accepted. This format will expedite the publishing process and the dissemination of the findings of this special issue.

Manuscripts for this special issue must be submitted between 1 May 2020 and 31 December 2020.

We anticipate publishing the full issue by 1 August 2021, but accepted articles will be accessible a few days after acceptance.

Authors will be able to indicate that they are submitting to this special issue at the time of submission. There is a drop-down box built into the submission portal that allows authors to choose the special issue.