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Assistant Professor, Harvard University; Faculty Research Fellow, National Bureau of Economic Research
On April 27 and 28, experts examined the economic policy response to COVID-19 and identified lessons for future recessions. Catch up with the recording.
Surveys the newly created federal subsidies and loans provided to businesses in the first year of the pandemic and also examine the additional lending and corporate bond purchases by the Federal Reserve.
Slowdowns in the economy are inevitable. While it may be tempting to rely on Federal Reserve policy as a lone response to recessions, this would be a mistake; we know that fiscal stimulus is effective. Rather than wait for a crisis to strike before designing discretionary fiscal policy, we would be better served by preparing in advance. Enacting evidence-based automatic stabilizer proposals before the next recession will help the next recovery start faster, make job creation stronger, and restore confidence to businesses and households.
Low recipiency rates and an imperfect Extended Benefits program weaken the unemployment insurance program’s effectiveness during recessions. Gabriel Chodorow-Reich and John Coglianese propose five reforms to strengthen the automatic stabilization functions of the unemployment insurance system.