Opinion
20.05.2020

We need to change the economy for a post-pandemic future

Consumption and production will have to be compatible with social distancing, writes Dennis J. Snower in Politico.

 

In an opinion piece in Politico, Dennis J. Snower writes:

The coronavirus pandemic will change the world, and that transformation will come with huge economic challenges. Whether we meet them will depend entirely on our willingness and ability to adapt.

So far, governments are doing the opposite. They are attempting to preserve the status quo — to keep money flowing to people who have lost their jobs and to businesses that have been shut down.

Such measures were a welcome stopgap in the first few weeks of the pandemic, but sticking to this strategy in the months ahead can only spell disaster. Unless governments adapt to the new circumstances, they will tumble toward economic meltdown and financial instability.

The ammunition that has already been fired is truly spectacular, and more is on the way, after German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed to a blueprint for a €500 billion recovery fund to help the hardest hit EU countries.

Read the full opinion piece on the Politico website.