Social Science and Legal Research on Pandemics

As the Covid-19 emergency sweeps across the globe, international scholars are starting to consider the longer term social and economic repercussions and what this means for our policy makers. 

To inform this discussion we have freed up relevant chapters from our archive (list below) looking at the impact of past pandemics as well as the state of the art social science research prior to the current emergency.  

The articles cover topics such as global health regulation for influenza, pandemics and migration, health emergencies and the international trading system, the complexity and cost-benefit trade-offs considered in preparing for pandemics, access to medicines, compulsory licensing and incentivising new medicines, building trust in public health responses, the impact of pandemics on business continuity and the challenge for university leaders in difficult times.

Please share these articles widely, and let us know if you come across other relevant chapters from our books.
Our friendly editors are also available if you would like to arrange a video call to discuss your own research and writing plans in the coming weeks.


> Pandemics, migration and global health security
> Human pandemic influenza virus
> Political Precaution, Pandemics and Protectionism
> Epidemics and supernetworks
> A case study of complexity and health policy: planning for a pandemic
> Principles and standards for benefit–cost analysis of public health preparedness and pandemic mitigation programs
> Complexity, the bridging science of emerging respiratory outbreak response
> Urban disasters crisis management scenario design and crisis management simulation
> The recognition and evolution of the HIV and human rights interface: 1981–2017
>General trends in compulsory licensing in the pharmaceutical sector from 1 January 1995 to 6 June 2011
> Governance, Pathogens and Human Health
> Access to genetic resources and benefit-sharing
> Creativity, Innovation and Intellectual Property: A New Approach for the 21st Century
> Developing socially responsible intellectual property licensing policies: non-exclusive licensing initiatives in the pharmaceutical sector
> Deliberate trust-building by autonomous government agencies: evidence from responses to the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic
> The Impact of Disease and Pandemics on Business Continuity
> Genetic resources
> Opportunities and Obstacles: The Imperative of Global Citizenship