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Policy for the COVID-19 Crisis

Question A:

A comprehensive policy response to the coronavirus will involve tolerating a very large contraction in economic activity until the spread of infections has dropped significantly.

Responses

Source: Clark Center Economic Experts Panel
Methodology
Question B:

Abandoning severe lockdowns at a time when the likelihood of a resurgence in infections remains high will lead to greater total economic damage than sustaining the lockdowns to eliminate the resurgence risk.

Responses

Source: Clark Center Economic Experts Panel
Methodology
Question C:

Optimally, the government would invest more than it is currently doing in expanding treatment capacity through steps such as building temporary hospitals, accelerating testing, making more masks and ventilators, and providing financial incentives for the production of a successful vaccine.

Responses

Source: Clark Center Economic Experts Panel
Methodology
 
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Business Cycles, Recessions, & Crises
COVID-19

The Economic Impact of Coronavirus on UK Businesses: Early Evidence from the Decision Maker Panel

Nicholas Bloom, Philip Bunn, Scarlet Chen, Paul Mizen, Pawel Smietanka The spread of COVID-19 has created an important new source of concern for firms. This column reports the findings of the latest Decision Maker Panel survey of UK CFOs, which show that businesses expected the spread of the virus to have a large impact on […] 
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COVID-19
COVID-19

The Preferred Stock Approach to Help Corporations

Kenneth L Judd and Karl Schmedders The Senate Covid-19 bill does not offer a coherent rescue plan based on sound economic principles. The key policy goal at this point must be to get cash to corporations quickly, but do so in a manner that does not create new financial problems, does not interfere with corporate […] 
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COVID-19
COVID-19

Corona and Financial Stability 2.0: Act Jointly Now, But Also Think About Tomorrow

Elena Carletti, Jan Pieter Krahnen et al The COVID-19 pandemic has massive detrimental economic effects and demands immediate policy actions to prevent a financial or debt crisis. This SAFE policy letter from the Leibniz Institute for Financial Research argues that while the fiscal policy responses in Europe have some merit in the short term, they […] 
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COVID-19
COVID-19

Switzerland Can Erase the Economic Cost of Covid-19

Jean-Pierre Danthine A large part of the Swiss economy is now at a standstill. How can we prevent this temporary standstill, which will inevitably manifest itself in a decline in GDP over one or two semesters (and thus presumably in a technical recession), from being followed by lasting negative consequences for our material wellbeing? Read […] 
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COVID-19
COVID-19

The Coronavirus and Financial Stability

Elena Carletti, Jan Pieter Krahnen, et al The virus epidemic carries the risk of a financial pandemic, which may even spiral into a global phenomenon. This SAFE policy letter from the Leibniz Institute for Financial Research argues for some form of a joint and mutual insurance scheme at the European level, compensating firms for crisis-induced […] 
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COVID-19
COVID-19

Coronavirus Data Gaps and the Policy Response to the Novel Coronavirus

James H. Stock This note lays out the basic SIR epidemiological model of contagion, with a target audience of economists who want a framework for understanding the effects of social distancing and containment policies on the evolution of contagion and interactions with the economy. The model is calibrated to the most recent data, however it […] 
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COVID-19