Financial Policy During the COVID-19 Crisis
A special section of the GCFP blog to provide a forum for academics, practitioners and policymakers to analyze proposed policy initiatives and to suggest new ones
With the coronavirus pandemic causing massive disruptions to global financial markets and economies, identifying and implementing the most effective financial and economic policies without delay is imperative. The aim of this GCFP blog is to provide a forum for our expert affiliates—academics, practitioners and policymakers—to analyze proposed policy initiatives and to suggest new ones. We hope it will be a resource for policymakers, journalists, students and the wider GCFP community to learn more about the issues and the implications of different responses.
Consistent with the GCFP’s mission of non-partisanship and offering analysis but not policy advice, any recommendations contained in these posts are those of the authors and do not represent the views of the GCFP.
Usable bank capital
By
The COVID-19 induced ‘Great Lockdown’ has cast doubt on the efficacy of bank buffers in supporting the real economy in times of crisis. Despite accommodative regulatory and supervisory action, banks remain hesitant to [...]
COVID-19 UPDATE: Financial Stability and Macroprudential Policy
By
A discussion among financial industry leaders and academics about the current state of the markets and what we can expect in the coming months and years.
Estimating Probabilities of Success of Vaccine and Other Anti-Infective Therapeutic Development Programs
By
In a paper published in the Harvard Data Science Review on May 14, 2020, the co-director of GCFP, Andrew Lo, along with his co-authors Kien Wei Siah and Chi Heem Wong, estimate the probability of success (PoS) of [...]
Funding pandemic relief: Monetise now
By
Deborah J. Lucas, Sloan Distinguished Professor of Finance and Director, MIT Golub Center for Finance and Policy Refet A. Gürkaynak, Professor of Economics and Department Chair, Bilkent University
Federal stimulus favors wealthy investors and major companies
By
In an article in The Hill, Bob Pozen explores how the recently enacted Cares Act has tax provisions that favor wealthy investors and large companies. There is proposed legislation now in Congress to [...]
Brakes or Bans: Protecting Financial Markets during a Pandemic
By
Amid the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic, the movements in equity markets’ around the world have mirrored the spread of the virus and its virulence. Attempts to limit market crashes, volatility, and financial contagion have taken a number of different forms. This column explores [...]
Bayesian Adaptive Clinical Trials for Anti‐Infective Therapeutics during Epidemic Outbreaks
By
We all have heard about these “unprecedented times” and how we need to throw the old play book out and try something new. For decades, we have had established protocols on [...]
Pandemics Depress the Economy, Public Health Interventions Do Not: Evidence from the 1918 Flu
By
The COVID-19 pandemic damages the U.S. and the world economy and puts policymakers in an unfamiliar dilemma. Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as social distancing slow the spread of [...]
Opinion: What to know about how the coronavirus crisis will impact your money market fund
By
Robert C. Pozen, Senior Lecturer, MIT Sloan School of Management and non-resident Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution
3 Questions: Jonathan Parker on building an economic recovery
By
Jonathan Parker, Robert C. Merton Professor of Finance at MIT Sloan and co-director at the MIT GCFP, recently provided answers on [...]