Clark Center Forum

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 […] 

Pinelopi Goldberg We need more data before deciding how to proceed, and we need the data to be presented in an objective, impartial, and constructive way. Complacency in the current circumstances would be disastrous. But so would be mass hysteria fueled by misinformation or misrepresentation of statistics. Read more> 

Francesco Giavazzi and Guido Tabellini This war-like shock will require very large fiscal support. Its financing cost should be distributed over several generations. This can be achieved by issuing irredeemable or very long maturity Eurobonds. They should be backed by the ECB to keep the financing burden low. This column argues that no institutional or […] 

Sendhil Mullainathan and Richard H. Thaler Two economists suggest suspending these 5 types of regulations because they are slowing the medical response to the pandemic. And they are asking for more ideas. Read more> 

Aaron Edlin The new stimulus plan is likely to be ineffective or even counterproductive by accelerating the spread of the coronavirus: Aaron Edlin, director of the Law, Economics, and Politics Center (LEAP) at Berkeley School of Law argues that much more of the money should be spent on increasing healthcare capacity, which may be a […] 

Patrick Honohan In facing the sharp economic crisis that is spinning out of the pandemic, European fiscal and monetary policymakers must not forget lessons learned in the 10 years since the euro area crisis got under way. There can be no excuse for repeating the errors that were made then. Read more> 

Jeremy C. Stein, Robin Greenwood, Samuel G. Hanson, and Adi Sunderam The Federal Reserve’s supervisory and regulatory functions need to begin acting immediately to buy insurance against the risk of large bank losses which have been made more likely by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more> 

Peter DeMarzo, Hanno Lustig, Amit Seru, and Jeffrey Zwiebel Beginning with SARS, Ebola, Zika, MERS, and now COVID-19, the world has witnessed the magnitude of the threat from the outbreak of an infectious and deadly disease. The subsequent scramble for a vaccine, and the long delays involved, makes it clear that we are unprepared. Why […] 

James H. Stock In the absence of testing equipment – most recently, swabs – tests for the novel coronavirus have been rationed, with the most vulnerable or those in most need of help prioritized. As tests become more widely available, however, some of the new testing resources should be devoted to randomized testing. What we […] 

Luigi Zingales In deciding on possible countermeasures, residents of Western democracies often hear only two opposite perspectives: Is the priority to minimize the loss of human lives, or to minimize the impact that the countermeasures might have on the economy? Even the simplest cost-benefit analysis suggests that the US government should be willing to spend […]