In The News

Lives Versus Livelihoods: Japan Times

Gwynne Dyer April 17, 2020
COVID-19 emerged in Wuhan, China, and China imposed strict lockdown measures for 70 days. The city has reopened with officials screening temperatures and citizen movements. Other nations, especially the United States, hope to reopen economies after 30 days of lockdown isolation with less stringent measures. “Everybody knows that you can’t shut the economy down indefinitely, but nobody wants to...

COVID-19: A View From Latin America

April 16, 2020
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 remain deceptively low throughout Latin America, yet the exponential spread will hit the region hard. A group of former leaders point to uneven policy response and warn that the shock and uncertainty could pose catastrophic consequences for the region. Leaders must move rapidly, prioritizing public health rather than trying to evade the threat with populism,...

Global Call for Action

April 9, 2020
More than 200 political leaders, economists, academics and directors of NGOS have issued a call to action from G20 governments, urging immediate global coordination and emergency measures for addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis. Both crises “require world leaders to commit to funding far beyond the current capacity of our existing international institutions,” explains the letter...

Global Financial System and the Abyss: Bloomberg

Molly Smith, Alex Harris and Matthew Boesler March 29, 2020
The United States, with more confirmed COVID-19 cases than other country in the world and a patchwork approach to testing and emergency closures, has not set a good example in slowing the disease's spread. On the other hand, the US Federal Reserve has led in preventing a global economic depression by applying massive, far-reaching and historic actions to ensure liquidity and stabilization....

The Flu, COVID-19 and the Economy

March 27, 2020
The United States leads the world in confirmed cases of COVID-19, passing even China, with almost four times the population and where the disease emerged in November. Some government and business leaders resist advice from public health experts on lockdowns and slowed economic activity. There is an argument that a pause on food supplies, utilities and other essential services poses a health...

US Coronavirus Conflict With China: The Hill

Stephen S. Roach and Daniel L. Arbess March 25, 2020
COVID-19, a threat to social and economic activity, requires a global solution, explain Stephen Roach and Daniel Arbess. Scapegoating is “stressing the U.S.-China relationship, inhibiting collaboration and enabling China to fill the global leadership void,” the two write. Collaborative research and ending the trade war, especially on medical supplies, could save US lives. China’s strict...

Nations Try to Contain COVID-19 Economic Damage: DW

Kate Martyr and Ankita Mukhopadhyay March 21, 2020
Cities have imposed lockdowns to slow the spread of COVID-19, disrupting and even stalling economic activity. Advanced economies simultaneously address both health and economic crises, providing funding to develop and test treatments and vaccines while ensuring liquidity for banks and companies through credit and tax measures. The goal: Keep markets liquid and tradable. Some countries like...