New publications: COVID-19 and the recovery
The COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdowns had a major impact throughout the world, affecting our economies and societies, resulting ultimately in a novel scenario for all actors. The following papers, published over the course of the last hectic months, discuss the economic and policy responses to the crisis and outline a few suggestions for the way forward.
Financing the European Union: new context, new responses
Clemens Fuest and Jean Pisani-Ferry
September 2020
This Policy Contribution is a version of a paper prepared by the authors for the Informal Meeting of EU
Ministers for Economic and Financial Affairs (ECOFIN) in Berlin, 11-12 September 2020.
When more delivers less: Comparing the US and French COVID-19 crisis responses
Jérémie Cohen-Setton and Jean Pisani-Ferry
June 2020
The authors dive beneath the unreliable headline numbers to assess the effectiveness of government support provided to households in March–May 2020 in the US and France. They conclude that the French approach delivered a bigger bang for the buck, but the fact that the US approach has fallen short should not diminish the significance of the policy shift signaled by the enactment of measures to maintain household income.
A new policy toolkit is needed as countries exit COVID-19 lockdowns
Olivier Blanchard, Thomas Philippon and Jean Pisani-Ferry
June 2020
As lockdowns are lifted, governments must shift policies toward supporting the recovery and design measures that will limit the pain of adjustment while preserving productive jobs and firms. This Policy Brief explores how such measures can be designed, with particular emphasis on Europe and the United States.
Olivier Blanchard and Jean Pisani-Ferry
April 2020
The extraordinary operations that are under way in most countries in response to the COVID-19 shock have raised fears that large-scale monetisation will result in a major inflation episode. This column argues that so far, there is no evidence that central banks have given up, or are preparing to give up, on their price stability mandate. While there are obviously some reasons to worry, central banks are doing the right thing and the authors see no reason to panic.
Repair and reconstruct: A Recovery Initiative
Agnès Bénassy-Quéré, Ramon Marimon, Philippe Martin, Jean Pisani-Ferry, Lucrezia Reichlin, Dirk Schoenmaker, Beatrice Weder di Mauro
April 2020
The objective of a Recovery Initiative should be to repair and reconstruct the EU economy: to repair corporate balance sheets and value chains; and to reconstruct the economy on a new, sustainable basis through investment in common public goods such as research, resilience, and the greening of the economy. This will involve targeted investment, coordinated restructuring in some sectors, and the introduction of an equity fund to help SMEs survive the crisis.