economic growth

The economic consequences of the coronavirus mostly derive from lockdowns. Shutting down production, especially, is responsible for the downturn. The shock has kept people from spending, of course – but only temporarily. Saving now is only spending put off for another day. Policies intended to discourage that saving could backfire. ...

The Covid-induced economic crisis has led policymakers to put in place large fiscal rescue packages including new spending, tax cuts and subsidies. Governments will now be tempted to spend more to boost the recovery. Soon, however, countries will have to pay for the debts they have rung up. Those that ...

After a rise in popularity in the 19th century, the concept of self-regulation fell out of favor in the aftermath of the two World Wars. Behaviors like delaying gratification have been declining since then, gradually chipping away at the social fabric in most Western nations. However, the current crisis could ...

After the financial crisis of 2008, EU leaders decided that the European Central Bank needed supervisory powers over banks. Initially, the project successfully helped rein in bad practices and clean up banks' balance sheets. However, if the ECB's supervisory and monetary policy-setting functions are not kept separate, it could lead ...