To stimulate its pandemic-hit economy, a province in South Korea has been experimenting with universal basic income programs by regularly giving out cash, no questions asked. Now, some politicians want to go national with the concept.
Illustration: Crystal Tai/WSJ
Predicting the path ahead has become nearly impossible, but we can speculate about the size and scale of the economic shock. Economic contagion is now spreading as fast as Covid-19 itself. Social distancing, intended to physically disrupt the spread, has severed the flow of goods and people, stalled economies, and is in the process of delivering a global recession.
Predicting the path ahead has become nearly impossible, as multiple dimensions of the crisis are unprecedented and unknowable. Pressing questions include the path of the shock and recovery, whether economies will be able to return to their pre-shock output levels and growth rates, and whether there will be any structural legacy from the coronavirus crisis.
This Explainer explores several scenarios to model the size and scale of the economic shock and the path ahead.
Based on the HBR article by Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak, Martin Reeves and Paul Swartz
A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, the business of survival—those companies that survive the coronavirus crisis will need to master a new environment. Plus, how to reopen factories after covid-19 (9:23) and Venezuela’s navy battles a cruise ship, and loses (17:41).
Dr. Paul Krugman is a Nobel Prize-Winning economist, and a regular commentator for the New York Times. Though academically recognised for his contributions to international trade theory, he writes about a wide range of economic issues, and is well known for making economic theory accessible to non-academics through his columns and numerous popular books. A liberal, Dr. Krugman is a fierce opponent of the modern Republican party, though he previously served as an economic advisor in Reagan’s White House.
ABOUT THE OXFORD UNION SOCIETY: The Oxford Union is the world’s most prestigious debating society, with an unparalleled reputation for bringing international guests and speakers to Oxford. Since 1823, the Union has been promoting debate and discussion not just in Oxford University, but across the globe.
In the new series “Economics For People” from the Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET), University of Cambridge economist and bestselling author Ha-Joon Chang explains key concepts in economics, empowering anyone to hold their government, society, and economy accountable.
To view more videos: https://www.ineteconomics.org/perspectives/videos/economics-for-people
From a Wall Street Journal online article:
He became one of the most unpopular Fed chairmen in history for pushing interest rates as high as 20% to break the soaring inflation that consumed the U.S. economy in the 1970s. But his actions succeeded in bringing inflation, making Mr. Volcker one of the most successful central bankers in history.
Paul Volcker, who defeated runaway inflation as Federal Reserve chairman in the 1980s, establishing the importance to the economy of an independent central bank, and whose “Volcker Rule” became a controversial element of postcrisis banking regulation in the Obama administration, has died at 92 years old.
Mr. Volcker died Sunday at his home following a long illness, his family said.
Mr. Volcker served in government across Democratic and Republican administrations for almost three decades in roles guiding monetary policy and overseeing the nation’s financial system.
Wall Street Journal corporate bureau chief Marcelo Prince explains the competition between retailers Amazon, Target and Walmart to provide one-day shipping to customers during the holiday season.America and China are edging closer to signing a deal in the trade war. But that won’t mark the end—the issues at the heart of the conflict will be very difficult to resolve.
The world’s leading superpowers are locking horns. Over the past 16 months America and China have been trading blows through tariffs on goods. The impact is being felt on industries worldwide. But what is the story behind the America-China trade war? So the trade war, what have you guys been looking at? The US doesn’t like that China is growing so fast and set to overtake America as the biggest economy in the world if it hasn’t already by certain measures. Basically China and the US are caught in this race of imposing tariffs on each other so the US slaps a high tariff on certain products then China retaliates.
Read more here: https://econ.st/2qQItl6
From a November 10, 2019 “60 Minutes” program: In an interview with Lesley Stahl, the chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase talks about Elizabeth Warren and the state of the global economy.
Boomers Daily 