Coronavirus | Econofact

Snapshot of the COVID Crisis Impact on Working Families

By Elizabeth O. Ananat and Anna Gassman-Pines·March 30, 2020
Barnard College, Columbia University and Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University

The Issue:

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus has profoundly affected many American families. The speed with which economic conditions turned as a result of the coronavirus pandemic — changing drastically from one week to the next — makes it difficult to capture the impact of the shock in a timely manner.

Tracking the Pandemic’s Trajectory: COVID-19 Cases vs. Deaths in the U.S.

By Hoyt Bleakley·March 26, 2020
University of Michigan

The Issue:

When will the U.S. be able to lift social distancing restrictions and begin to restore its economy? Large policy decisions depend on understanding the scope of the COVID-19 outbreak, its likely trajectory, and the effectiveness of policies to control it. Yet the fast-moving pandemic presents challenges

COVID-19 Social Insurance Payments to U.S. Households

By Melissa Kearney and Luke Pardue·March 26, 2020
University of Maryland

(Click here for a larger version.)

The Issue:

The United States government is gearing up to issue immediate direct payments to individuals to provide a financial lifeline at this time of income loss due to business closures and reduced demand for work and services. Such payments would provide an important measure

How do Economic Crises End?

By Dan Sichel·March 23, 2020
Wellesley College

The Issue:

We are now in the acute economic phase of a crisis that is unprecedented in modern times — a health crisis from the coronavirus pandemic that has sparked a follow-on economic crisis. The virus represents both a supply shock (as people are forced not to work and supply chains are disrupted by the need

Unemployment Insurance Fixes to Address the Coronavirus Fallout

By Patricia M. Anderson and Phillip Levine·March 22, 2020
Dartmouth College and Wellesley College

The Issue:

Unemployment is spiking nationwide. Massachusetts received as many applications for benefits on March 18th as they did in all of February. Ohio received over 12 times more applications on March 15th-17th as they did in all of the full preceding week. Goldman Sachs predicts 2.25 million new unemployment

Challenges of Equitable Rapid Response Cash Payments

By Lisa A. Gennetian·March 20, 2020
Duke University Sanford School of Public Policy

The Issue:

As businesses stop, layoffs skyrocket, and consumers hunker down, there is a rapidly growing consensus about sending people cash directly to help them cope with the economic fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Cash transfers have been successfully carried out as a rapid-response to emergency economic

Policy Responses to the Economic Consequences of Coronavirus

By Megan Greene and Michael Klein·March 17, 2020
Harvard Kennedy School, and The Fletcher School, Tufts University

The Issue:

Coronavirus presents economic challenges as well as adverse consequences for public health. Interruptions to regular business activity through people sheltering at home, limiting both the supply of workers and the demand for goods and services, coupled with panic in financial markets, almost certainly

Lessons From the 1918 Flu Pandemic

By Phillip Levine and Robin McKnight·March 17, 2020
Wellesley College

The Issue:

Much remains unknown and uncertain about the nature of the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, its trajectory, and the effectiveness of different strategies to slow its progression. While the current situation is in many ways uncharted territory, given the differences specific to the disease and the many

What is the Fed Doing to Stabilize Financial Markets?

By Kenneth Kuttner·March 15, 2020
Williams College

The Issue:

The coronavirus pandemic, together with the related disruptions in oil markets and the policy responses by many different governments to the crisis — including restrictions, closures and quarantines, impacting a wide range of businesses in different sectors — have contributed to asset market volatility