Intereconomics

Forum

COVID-19: From Lockdown to Recovery

Europe is currently in the midst of a second wave of the resurgent coronavirus pandemic, which has interrupted the slight economic rebound of the third quarter and is threatening long-lasting consequences as shutdown measures are reinstated. In order to combat the systemic damages and limit the economic and social fallout, the EU has proposed the Next Generation EU recovery plan. In October 2020, Intereconomics and the Centre for European Policy Studies invited renowned academics, policymakers and regional experts to participate in our 10th annual joint conference entitled, “COVID-19: From Lockdown to Recovery”. In this Forum, conference participants consider the impact of another shutdown on employment, the environment and a potential lost generation.

To the Forum

The Covid-19 Response

The Economics of the Coronavirus Crisis

Intereconomics will be publishing all coronavirus crisis related articles online first in order to provide our readers up-to-date information as this unprecedented situation continues to unfold.

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Letter from America

Another Slow Recovery from Economic Disaster

With the results of the US Presidential election becoming increasingly clearer, Dean Baker examines the current economic situation in the US and what the incoming administration may do to improve it in the absence of large-scale stimulus. Worksharing, aggressive action by the Federal Reserve Board to promote growth, reducing student loan debt, large subsidies for clean energy and affordable health care are a few of the less ambitious and more creative ways for the Biden administration to help the US economy weather the pandemic.

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Editor's Choice

The Political Economy of the Belarusian Crisis

While it is difficult at present to predict the outcome of Alexander Lukashenko’s fight against Belarusian society, it is useful to examine the structure of the Belarusian economy in order to better understand the country’s political economy and th inform Europe’s strategy regarding Belarus. Sergei Guriev’s Editorial details the current economic challenges facing Belarus.

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Editorial

The EU’s Pandemic Response

The European Commission’s recent Autumn Economic Forecast projects a decline in EU GDP of -7.4% in 2020, before bouncing back by 4.1% next year. This is the deepest recession in EU history, surpassing by far the financial crisis of 2009. European Commissioner for the Economy Paolo Gentiloni’s Editorial details the response to this crisis, including Next Generation EU, which is intended to not only support the EU economy as long as necessary, but do so in a way that puts sustainability at the heart of economic policy.

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Forum

Economic Recovery in the Age of COVID-19

With the world on the brink of yet another steep recession, and with ecological disaster looming, we can no longer afford the luxury of an economic policy which concentrates on the fight against inflation, leaves unemployment to emergency measures, distribution of wealth and income to the market, and ignores ecological challenges, writes Robert Skidelsky. The tripartite task of overcoming the scourge of unemployment, connecting its treatment to issues of just distribution nationally and globally, and linking both to a Green New Deal is the biggest politico-economic challenge facing us right now.

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Quote of the Month

"The recovery measures announced by Europe in parallel with the Green Deal are the perfect opportunity to step up the effort to measure the impact of public expenditure, both in the short and in the long term. To that aim, it is essential to quickly stabilise benchmarks to measure the financial and non-financial impact of investments in the European recovery plan."

From Natacha Valla's Forum contribution Boosting the Economic Recovery or Closing a Green Deal in Europe? Or Both?